Building a pond...?

[BuckFuller]

My wife and I are trying to find a home on some land with a pond or two that are big and deep enough for bass to live in. We have looked at 8 or 10 properties in Tulsa suburbs and what we find is, if the house meets our approval, there is no ponds and if it has nice pond(s), the house sucks. We saw one the other day that the property was nice, the house was great but it had no pond... however it had several acres right in front of the house that had a nice slope to it. I could almost visualize a big pond, which brings me to my question. What are the laws about building ponds here in Oklahoma? I keep hearing rumbling about how you can't capture rainwater any more...?!? Does anyone what the laws are about building a pond on your own property?

 

[Jeff405]

I've seen this discussed here a few times, some of this info may be useful to you as far as the pond goes.
http://www.okshooters.com/search/9187/?q=pond&o=relevance&c[node]=2

 

[CHenry]

My wife and I are trying to find a home on some land with a pond or two that are big and deep enough for bass to live in. We have looked at 8 or 10 properties in Tulsa suburbs and what we find is, if the house meets our approval, there is no ponds and if it has nice pond(s), the house sucks. We saw one the other day that the property was nice, the house was great but it had no pond... however it had several acres right in front of the house that had a nice slope to it. I could almost visualize a big pond, which brings me to my question. What are the laws about building ponds here in Oklahoma? I keep hearing rumbling about how you can't capture rainwater any more...?!? Does anyone what the laws are about building a pond on your own property?

The Dept of soil conservation will build your pond on their dime. Call them and ask for details.

 

[BuckFuller]

Thanks Jeff405, I remembered a thread or two where people were looking for someone to build a pond but I guess I missed the others.

 

[dennishoddy]

The Dept of soil conservation will build your pond on their dime. Call them and ask for details.

According to the current USDA email I got, they are only covering 75% up to $5000.00 for farm ponds.
It changes at times. If it's for erosion or flood control, sometimes as part of a bigger project they will put one in at Gov. Cost.

 

[CHenry]

According to the current USDA email I got, they are only covering 75% up to $5000.00 for farm ponds.
It changes at times. If it's for erosion or flood control, sometimes as part of a bigger project they will put one in at Gov. Cost.

Well, 75% on their dime...lol. Maybe the Dept of Water Conservation?

 

[BuckFuller]

What constitutes a "farm pond"...?

 

[dennishoddy]

What constitutes a "farm pond"...?

Someone engaged in the business of farming and ranching.
They likely won't help build an ornamental pond.
Also check with the federal wildlife folks. I know a guy that got cost share from them to build a pond that benefits migratory waterfowl. He had to drain it in the summer a little way and plant Japanese millet on the exposed mud. It's just seed you throw on it. When it matures in the fall, you let the pond fill back up.

 

[sleeperx4]

I'm not positive, but I think if the wildlife Dept builds a pond the landowner has to allow the public to fish there for xx amount of years.

 

[dennishoddy]

I'm not positive, but I think if the wildlife Dept builds a pond the landowner has to allow the public to fish there for xx amount of years.

That's the rumor that goes around, but you don't have to let the public in.
What happens, if you build a pond by any means, and the ODW stocks it for free, you and anybody that fishes it must have a fishing license. You also give implied consent for the game warden to come on the property to check licenses.
If you build a pond and stock it with fish from a private hatchery, nobody needs a fishing license.