Are you thinking of going into duck farming? Contact your states department of agriculture, this really isn't the right forum.

If there is only 1' of water, drain it before trying to find the leak. If you are going to raise animals, you need to contain their waste.

Good luck, but contact the dept of ag. I am sure there are standards you will need to meet.

Not farming for God's sake. Just a few ducks to utilize the space/conditions I have. Livestock is allowed for personal consumption where we live.

So you think the pond is leaking? These are just what looks like excavated holes in the ground. In Florida usually any hole over 4ft deep fills with water immediately. These are 10ft deep, and there is no water. Very strange.

I'm curious about the holes in your yard. How did they get there? Do you think someone dug them? Or, could they be sinkholes? If you don't have any reason to think they were human made, they certainly could be sinkholes if you live in central Florida. Trying to put a pond in a sinkhole could have lots of challenges, so be sure to do some research if you suspect they could be sinkholes.

I had the same reaction Larry did. I seem to remember Florida has a lot of sinkholes. If they are not sinkholes I would want to know why they are there. Can you talk to the contractor?
If you do manage to put in the ponds, there isn't much enthusiasm for ducks in this forum. They are just too dirty and wreak havoc among the plants. I'm sure there will be several Florida ponders who will be able to discuss your idea from experience but 10 foot deep holes don't just happen for no reason. Sandy

These holes are definately not sinkholes. The neighbours witnessed first hand when the previous owner dug them by hand (neighbours were very unhappy about that). There is 1ft standing water currently, and neigbours call it "moskito ponds", which I would agree with. Ducks will eat moskitoes, no problem, but I just don't like the unsightness of these "ponds" and the way they slope down so steeply. Would love to hear some ideas on sealing the ponds (maybe??) or somehow raising the water level in them, at the same time not raising water bill through the roof, although we are on the well.

Hi
Would it be possible to bring in some fill to cut down on the depth?? Certainly don't need a pond 10 foot deep.
You could bring it up to say 3/4 feet then use a regular liner over this. to complete the pond. Would require good fill of course to support the weight.
Would certainly be large enough to contain food fish of several species or ornamental fish for that matter. Were you thinking tilapia/catfish??
I have kept duck ponds as well as fish ponds(not in Florida) only for ornametal reasons though.Mixing the two is tough for several reasons. I kept only small ornamental waterfowl( wooducks ,mandarins ,teal.. You will certainly be able to keep fish with them .Plants are the tough part.
Sounds like an interesting project wish I had enough room for a duckpond!!! gary

Where did the removed material go? What kind of soil do you have? I would guess sand. Maybe he was looking for the ground water level? I would want to make it a lot less deep and use a liner. Sandy

The town that I live in has a couple of duck ponds in the local park. One of them is fairly large. They both used to have a constant flow of creek water through the ponds, but the city had to stop that practice because of all the coliform bacteria that went into the creek. When the city cut off the flow, the water quality in the ponds went downhill fast. The city has spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to improve water quality with no success. Pumps, aeration, filters, and plants have all been tried with no noticeable improvement.

The lesson here is to have very low expectations for water quality in your duck pond. You will not have clear water, and it could be a lot worse than that.

The first pond I ever had was installed for two ducks.
Man two ducks can foul up pond water, as quick as you can clean it out and refill it again.
I eventually decided that I was fed up emptying out the pond to get rid of all their waste, plus the grass, dirt, feathers, etc, that accumulated in the pond.
It became a real chore for me emptying and refilling that 200 gallon pond, at least twice a week.
I had a bottom drain installed in the pond, thankfully, that ran into an old weeping tile bed, but it was still a pain to keep it clean.
The two ducks went to a new home and the pond idea was shelved for a while.LOL
"Horton"

I think it would be an awesome idea.... Keep the holes as they are though don't fill them in. Seems to me if you are going to have ducks fouling up the water you would want to have as much water as possible to offset the duck poo. Maybe try and connect the two holes with a shallower pond area where you could plant plants and have a waterfall. If ducks are really as filthy as they seem, the bigger your pond the better as far as water quality issues are concerned, and connecting the two holes would give you double the volume of water.Once you get the holes connected with a shallower maybee 2 foot deep area Then get a REALLY big liner drape it over the entire pond area, and fill it up with water.

The shallow part connecting the ponds you can use to plant plants like lilies that wont survive in the deeper parts of your pond.

With a well planted shallow section combined with the two deep sections, you could have a sustainable food chain/ ecosystem. get some small fast breeding fish like mosquito fish, minnows, or (if it doesn't get too cold in your area) guppies. These fish will reproduce like no body's business in the shallow planted area, as well as in the deep zone provided there are plenty of hiding places (rocks and things) for them to take shelter from more predatory fish. After establishing a population of small fish you will be able to add a few (not very many, maybe 3-5) more interesting, ornamental fish like koi, or Goldfish that will eat the smaller fish.

This would leave you with a huge pond the size of 2 outdoor home swimming pools + the shallow area connecting them, that is very lightly stocked with only a few ornamental fish, and LOTS of little fish. IMO you could easily add a duck or two to this scenario (as long as they don't invite a big flock of ducks). Maybe think about putting a big mesh canopy over it and create something of a duck aviary over your pond so that other wild ducks can't join your ducks, and yours can't escape.
In any case you will need one or more VERY LARGE pumps for your pond so that the 10 foot deep parts of it get good water circulation. Maybe put in a waterfall that spills into the shallow end, AND get 2 fountains, one for each deep end.

This is just what I would do with your two holes in the ground. HAVE FUN and post pictures!

Deep ponds are harder to clean. I know this because my pond is hard to clean at a depth of six feet. A twelve foot long piece of 1.5 inch PVC pipe is not very easy to maneuver when it is full of water. A ten foot deep pond will be very hard to clean. How will you get objects out of the pond that fall in, or blow in? Yes, it happens. Want to go snorkeling in duck feces? I would fill it in to a depth of maybe three or four feet at the most. You can make the pond larger as you mine the surrounding area for the dirt.

Having ducks in a small pond like that is pretty much like running a pipe from your toilet into the pond. It will kill all the fish and stink like a sewer.

I think mrchillman may have hit the biggest problem on the button. I can just see your ponds with your tame ducks enjoying the visit from all the wild ducks that would drop in. If your pond was natural, you might be able to get away with it but I think an artificial pond wouldn't be able to escape becoming the stinky mess everyone is suggesting. In any case, good luck. Let us know how it works out. Sandy