Watershed Care

The watershed is an integral part of a pond. Practically all water passes over or through the soil in the watershed before entering the pond. Proper watershed management will help regulate the rate and quantity of run-off, reduce siltation, and prevent pesticides or toxic chemicals from entering the pond.

The entire watershed should have a permanent cover crop. If it is necessary to plant row crops in the watershed, terraces should be constructed to drain fields away from the pond so that siltation will be held to a minimum. Row crops should not be planted in the watershed that will require the use of pesticides that are toxic to fish. Application of pesticides to nearby fields should only be done on calm days when rain is not in the forecast. Likewise, pesticide containers or equipment should not be cleaned or dumped into the pond or watershed.

The information above came from the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division's booklet Sportfish Management in Alabama Ponds, which is available as a PDF.