backyardmama,

If I was presented with a situation you described above, I would go with an enlarged pond with walls out of cinder block construction. I would make sure that after two or three rows of bricks in the wall, that I drove R-bar poles into the bottom soil and cemented them in (for extra protection against side movement). Then finish the wall.

Or if you have the coin, you could look into guninite (sic) instead of a "cement pond".

Post some pics when you get it under way.

LP

Thanks, I'll look into the gunnite (?) and the cinderblock walls suggestions. I'd hate to put in a much larger pond and have the sides do the same as the sides of the current pond. This area was once a peanut plantation and I'm sure the soil was great for that, just like it makes for a great vegetable garden, but not so great for ponds.

I have very sandy soil because this area was all desert at one time. You are correct that it makes digging very easy. I lined the walls with stacked flat rock as pictured below. No problems with all that weight against the liner.
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Here is a link that might be useful: My pond the way it was before the freeze.

I used the flat stackers up the sides also. I built my pond in a former vegetable garden, so the soil was very soft from being worked and composted so often. The rocks are an excellent way of keeping soft sides in place.

bugsb,

What's that in the foreground of your picture? Is that a "cinder block wall"?

No really did you place the rock in front of a CBW or is the far side just the stacked loose rocks over liner?

I like the look. How deep is your pond? And how the liner algae growth, in regards to the overall appearance? It doesn't take away from the texture of the rock wall I hope.

LP

Your pond is absolutely stunning, Busgb. I bet its even more gorgeous in person, and I'm sure you derive a lot of pleasure from it. Makes my pond look kind of whimpy, LOL.

I lived in a very sandy area and slanted my walls back just a bit. I have have flagstone stacked 12" high with no problem yet with cave ins. It's a good idea to do your digging when your soil has a good bit of moisture in it.

I use cinder blocks when I constructed my pond. Rocks are not stable Even flat rocks can tumble. That's why the highway signs warn us of falling rocks LOL.

Wow, thanks BugsB for the pics. I had seen finished pics of your pond before but didn't know how it was constructed. Just how many TONS of rock did you use?
JMorris - I had wondered if sloping the sides gradually would be a good option. Do you have trouble with critters wading in for dinner?
NancyM, if you think your pond is wimpy, you should see mine. With all the rocks I put in it, it might hold 150 gallons after a good rain.
I did find the website below - a series of step by step pictures of a pond with cinderblocks around the edge and his explanation for the caving it seems reasonable. If any of you have any opinions of the way he did it, I'd like to hear them. I respect all of your opinions.
johnkr, did you use your cinderblocks in the same way?

Thanks everyone,
Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: cinder blocks in pond construction

Our pond is on a slope and we had to build a 40 inch tall cinder block wall on the back side of the pond.

We poured concrete footers below the frost line with rebar installed horizontally for added strength.

We then used cinderblock for each course of wall. We added rebar vertically every other block and horizontally every other row and filled all block cavities with concrete for added strength.

We built pilasters on the back side exterior of the wall for extra strength. We backfilled the wall on the inside of the pond with dirt to create a slope and to relieve some of the water pressure.

For the front side of the pond we poured a 12 inch wide footer tying it into the wall with rebar so that the pond is level all the way around.

The raised collar in the front prevents runoff water from entering the pond.

The cinder block walls are covered with a stone veneer and rocks.

I used even flagstone cuts as the foundation for the cinder blocks. It was a little more expensive then a concrete footer, but easier to install and I think it will hold up forever. I also placed about a four inch layer of gravel under the flagstone to get it level and prevent shifting. I would never place the cinder blocks directly on the ground without some type of foundation.

I covered the cinder blocks with a double layer of commercial pond under-layer fabric to protect the pond liner from the blocks. If I built another pond, I would do it the same way.

My neighbors thought I was building a bomb shelter when I constructed my pond using the cinder blocks.

sloping sides are a PITA in my opinion. I had them on my first pond and they were dangerous! If I had to get in the pond for maintenance, it was darn hard to get past the slopes without going for a swim. I also think if anyone were to accidently fall in, they would have a hard time getting out. My current pond has vertical, 4' deep walls. I built them out of concrete blocks, backfilled them soild with concrete and then put in the liner. I love this pond.

My pond didn't used to have sloping sides, but since we had so much rain the last two years in May, they slope now! Sherry, we haven't redone our original pond (it's 3500 gallons), but I have redone the top edges with PT wood under the liner and bricks, to stabilize it with a manageable amount of work. But, when we dug a settling chamber this spring, we went with the cinder blocks. We had to dig an extra 8" all around, but it's sooo steady!
Now we're waiting to see what happens next May...

:) Mary

*and yes, the neighbors are always stopping by to see what we're up to now...*