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Petersen Companies
Pond Construction
Owning a pond is a very special experience. They can add beauty to your landscape as well as activities such as fishing and swimming. They can also serve a functional purpose in many cases. Ponds can serve as retention for storm water and sediment, a source for irrigation water, fish farms, water hazards on golf courses and much more. A pond can serve all of these functions and be something you can take great pride in. A pond that is not maintained properly, can be source of frustration as well. One of the more serious water quality management issues is the build up of organic and inorganic material and sludge on the bottom of a body of water. Ponds can fill with material slowly over many years or in some cases heavy rain can cause erosion and build up in a very short time. As this material accumulates, several things begin to happen. The depth of the pond decreases which makes water quality management difficult, nutrients build up and organic material begins to decay. This will cause blooms of algae and excessive weed growth. Oxygen levels are affect, toxic gases build up, fish and desirable plant life struggle to survive and thrive. Eventually water quality becomes impossible to control. I believe that we can provide you with the best possible solution for your pond at an affordable price. We take great pride in all of our work in being able to “tread lightly” on the environment. Our goal is to help you restore your pond to its original condition to allow you to better control the water quality and usability of your pond. We are intent on not causing any damage to your property other than the containment area for the bags. We want you to avoid any unnecessary costs to clean and restore your landscape after the sediment is removed.
Conventional methods utilizing draglines and backhoes generally cause a lot of destruction of the landscape. We have found that estimates for removal of sediment using this method typically runs about 50% or more above the cost of our sediment removal system. You must drain the pond and then try to handle and haul the sediment slurry that is dug out. The impact in most cases is severe and restoration is expensive. It can also destroy any fish population you do have.
Utilizing divers is very labor intensive. The divers wallowing around in the mud tend to stir up as much sediment as they remove. A diver randomly swimming with a 3” hose cannot begin to harvest as much material as a 6” pump with a cutter head system on a cable grid. Diving as well can be a very messy process, especially as the water is depleted.
Advantages to our system are many. The hydraulic dredge system we use is basically a smaller version of the larger commercial dredges that are used to clean out harbors, marinas, rivers and lakes that have silted in. The pond is worked in a grid pattern, much like mowing a lawn, with controlled depths of cut to assure as much sediment as possible is removed. We have a working depth of 14” to 10' and deeper when we drop the pond levels. We can consistently and effectively remove more sediment than any other system available.
Material handling is typically the most difficult issue to address. The material can be pumped to an open pit for dewatering or pumped into dewatering bags to contain and dewater the sediment.
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• Open pit dewatering does not require the purchase of containment bags, however it can mean further distance to pump and the inability to return clean water to the pond to avoid depletion of the water as we pump. The pit tends to fill fast and typically the sediment on the bottom prevents rapid dewatering. You still have material that needs to be hauled away once it dewaters. We typically pump 1200 GPM. 202 gallons = 1 CY this equates to approximately 5-6 cubic yards of water/sediment per minute. This requires a rather large hole to contain the material. If there is a large enough low area available and the water volume is sufficient to keep the pond filled as we pump, this is the most cost effective solution.
• Dewatering bags and the use of a polymer agent is the most effective when there is not a good open pit solution. This method allows the material to be pumped into bags which retain the sediment but allow the water to exit and return to the pond clean. The addition of a polymer allows the sediment to settle quicker and helps clear up the water. Typically the water is cleaner after going through the bag than it was sitting in the pond. Once the sediment has dewatered sufficiently, the bags can be opened and the sediment loaded with wheel loaders and hauled away with dump trucks. The material in most cases is very nutrient rich and can be combined and blended with topsoil for a salable product.
Our services basically involve the removal of the sediment from the pond and if needed we can arrange the removal of the material from your property as well. Petersen Companies can provide you with referrals to companies that specialize in the management of your aquatic resources. Their services range from the management of algae and aquatic weeds, fisheries management and stocking, nutrient management, aeration and water quality and much more.
Kent Petersen
Petersen Companies, Inc.
Sediment Removal Specialists
Petersen Companies
Sediment Removal Services
Petersen Companies has expanded their comprehensive services and construction business with the DINO Six Sediment Removal System. Petersen Companies and Stoney Creek Landscaping have 30 years of experience offering a broad range of services including:
POND BUILDING SEDIMENT REMOVAL DREDGING TOPSOIL AND MATERIAL SCREENING BARGE SERVICE AND RENTALS LAKESHORE RESTORATION LANDSCAPE DESIGN BUILD Petersen Companies offers these services throughout the Midwest. Working as partners with consultants, engineers and specialists in lake and pond management, we can offer the customer a complete service either as a general contractor or a subcontractor. We have experience working closely with government agencies such as the Army Corp, FEMA, DNR as well as Lake Associations.  Call the professionals at the Petersen Companies for more information on the following services:
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