How To Repair Pond Bank Erosion

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OP Lunker Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 21	I am starting to experience what I hear is a fairly common problem. I am getting bank erosion on the prevailing wind side of my 1 acre pond. I tried hard from the beginning to make the bermuda grow down the sides to the water and I thought I had done a fairly good job but after 5 years, the little waves have worked their way behind the grass, destroying the sloped side, and now the bank is collapsing. I know it's a stretch but is there an inexpensive but aesthetically pleasing fix that anyone has used successfully? I don't particularly want to do old electric poles, cinder blocks, or sandbags if I can help it. I would be willing to spend a little money on a commercial erosion control product if I could install it myself and it didn't take away from the ambiance of the pond. [img][/img] [img][/img]

Joined: Jan 2009 Posts: 26,020 Likes: 186 Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker Joined: Jan 2009 Posts: 26,020 Likes: 186	What was the slope of the pond bank before the erosion took place?

Joined: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,074 Lunker
Lunker Joined: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,074	dave had the same idea as I do. Rock will do the job and by looking at the pictures they would be easy to place. Often after a year or so the vegetation will cover the rocks and they will be almost hidden. Same with the blankets they are made to let the grass get growing and hold the soil. Otto

Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 21 Lunker
OP Lunker Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 21	esshup, the original slope ended up being about 2.8 to 1. As you can see in picture, the erosion has created a little shelf or step. Otto, can blankets be purchased in narrow strips or would something large have to be cut manually? Where can I get something like that? Online research hasn't been successful in finding something that is manageable for a small project like this.

Joined: Jan 2009 Posts: 26,020 Likes: 186 Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker Joined: Jan 2009 Posts: 26,020 Likes: 186	Search for GeoTextile Fabric. Brettski used some in his pond project, but they were the wider pieces. I've also seen the fabric mats that had grass seed in them to help get grass started quickly on slopes. Don't remember where tho, sorry.

Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 100 Lunker
Lunker Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 100	Some soils erode worse than others, but u got what u got when it comes to that. In my experience that step erosion is pretty common, but once it develops it stops eroding any further. The steps tends to act as a wave breaker unless the water level goes higher. From the photos, riprap placed on the step would be the easiest thing. You would have to backfill with clay @ the step to make the erosion mats look good now. In my area a kind of soil called limerock is used as a cheaper substitute for riprap in that situation, but this is somewhat local to West AL prairie soils. That step can serve as a shallow substrate fore aquatic plant growth and , when water levels are high, decent structure for holding bass; so don't be so quick to count it as a problem. -HH

Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 8,634 Likes: 27 Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 8,634 Likes: 27	I am starting to experience what I hear is a fairly common problem. I am getting bank erosion on the prevailing wind side of my 1 acre pond. I tried hard from the beginning to make the bermuda grow down the sides to the water and I thought I had done a fairly good job but after 5 years, the little waves have worked their way behind the grass, destroying the sloped side, and now the bank is collapsing. I know it's a stretch but is there an inexpensive but aesthetically pleasing fix that anyone has used successfully? I don't particularly want to do old electric poles, cinder blocks, or sandbags if I can help it. I would be willing to spend a little money on a commercial erosion control product if I could install it myself and it didn't take away from the ambiance of the pond. [img][/img] [img][/img] My post on Emats may help. http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=13172&Number=154903#Post154903 I found erosion mat by contacting someone who worked for the Nebraska Dept of Roads - they use a lot of it in order to protect exposed slopes following bridge/road construction. One can cut the strips as narrow as one needs - just staple it in place. I personally think rock or riprap would provide a better solution and would also have the benefit of serving as habitat for YOY fish invertibrates and crayfish - but can get expensive in a hurry. Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 131 Lunker
Lunker Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 131	We have the same step on a few areas of our pond, it does leave some shelter for crayfish & frogs, but muskrats also use it as a shelterd run eroding it much more. I was thinking of using large field stone installed over landscape fabric to keep weeds out, then putting pea stone between grass & stone to make mowing easier. but need a way to stop the rats.

Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 8,634 Likes: 27 Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 8,634 Likes: 27	We have the same step on a few areas of our pond, it does leave some shelter for crayfish & frogs, but muskrats also use it as a shelterd run eroding it much more. I was thinking of using large field stone installed over landscape fabric to keep weeds out, then putting pea stone between grass & stone to make mowing easier. but need a way to stop the rats. Chain link fencing laid down could keep out the rats? Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Joined: Oct 2005 Posts: 1,285 Lunker
Lunker Joined: Oct 2005 Posts: 1,285	Google "Turf Reinforcement Mats" TRM's are probably the cheapest and easiest to install. Rock over geotextile will probably last the longest Sheet piling is another good option and there are some DIY products out there for a reasonable cost but probably it's the most labor intensive option. "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." Stephen W. Hawking

Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 131 Lunker
Lunker Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 131	otto my pond has a shallow slope extending out 7 feet then it drops off. I have seen the rats create a channel that starts at the drop off then all the way to the shore. when the algae is present you can't see him use it! Plus i'm afraid the fence will interupt spawning. in the spring the shallows are full of BG & LMB beds

Joined: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,074 Lunker
Lunker Joined: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,074	This not a suggestion just an option. The problem we are looking at in the pictures will be hard to improve on. The vegetation that has the bank covered is exactly what we would try to get after the bank is fixed. Rip rap is the only thing that you can use that will not involve a lot of prep work.

Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 21 Lunker
OP Lunker Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 21	Thanks for all the ideas. I think some form of rip rap, probably broken concrete, will be my best bet for longevity. Rock would be pretty but every rock you see in my part of the country is imported, and imported is another word for "expensive". I just don't want to tear the place up again handling that heavy stuff after I've spent 5 years trying to make it look nice. I'll ponder till spring and maybe the problem will go away.

Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 957 Lunker
Lunker Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 957	I have a similar bank and most of my initial weed growth occurred in the water, which I think reduced the erosion a great deal. My banks are a little steeper than yours and are stepped in two, 1 meter increments and the weeds seem to be doing well in that first 1 meter depth. For the most part the weeds act as a poor mans rip rap. If the erosion is caused by wave action and/or run off the problem may solve its self, if from ground water rock rip rap maybe the answer. One question has the water level been low enough for you to see the extend of dam,age? 1/4 & 3/4 acre ponds. A thousand miles from no where and there is no place I want to be... Dwight Yoakam

Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 21 Lunker
OP Lunker Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 21	Rad, there is no specific dam site on the pond. The pond is 1 acre kidney shaped and has a levee surrounding it. No watershed water gets in the pond. Only well and rain water. The water level in the picture is as high as it gets because the bottom-fed overflow keeps it there. I have the water well to keep it topped off and I never let the water level get more than 5 inches below overflow. As for the grass, I was really proud of myself for all the effort it took to train the bermuda to grow down the sides to the water. I thought for sure I had the erosion problem prevented so you can imagine how sick I was when I the first signs of erosion.

Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 957 Lunker
Lunker Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 957	DKFarms, dam,age was a typo I was trying for damage, wondering if you had seen the extend of it. It could be in the 5 inches between low water and grass line. If so maybe you can train the Bermuda to cover that area then bring the water level back up. The reason I offer that up is because I lived on a pond that had St Augustine that grew into the water and there was no erosion. 1/4 & 3/4 acre ponds. A thousand miles from no where and there is no place I want to be... Dwight Yoakam

Joined: May 2009 Posts: 565 Lunker
Lunker Joined: May 2009 Posts: 565	Thanks for all the ideas. I think some form of rip rap, probably broken concrete, will be my best bet for longevity. Rock would be pretty but every rock you see in my part of the country is imported, and imported is another word for "expensive". I just don't want to tear the place up again handling that heavy stuff after I've spent 5 years trying to make it look nice. I'll ponder till spring and maybe the problem will go away. I want to repair the erosion on my pond also. I think stones or rip rap would be the best solution for me but I've been hearing that the stones eventually slide into the pond and over the years more stone will be needed. I don't know if this is true or how to get around that. I'll be pumping my pond out soon for renovation.

Joined: May 2012 Posts: 20
Joined: May 2012 Posts: 20	Vetiver grass can help stop further collapsing of a pond bank. Vetiver grass is a tropical grass originate in India and south east Asia. This grass has a very strong root system. And can grow in a wide range of climatic condition from minus 15 degree to 50 degree Celcius. Virtually It can be grown in every condition.

Joined: May 2011 Posts: 1,582 Likes: 2
Joined: May 2011 Posts: 1,582 Likes: 2	Vetiver grass can help stop further collapsing of a pond bank. Vetiver grass is a tropical grass originate in India and south east Asia. This grass has a very strong root system. And can grow in a wide range of climatic condition from minus 15 degree to 50 degree Celcius. Virtually It can be grown in every condition. I would be wary of introducting a non-native grass to the area.

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How To Repair Pond Bank Erosion

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