Using pond for irrigation

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suffolk_lawn
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Using pond for irrigation

Post by suffolk_lawn » March 23rd, 2019, 11:43 pm

I have a small pond in front of my house. Fully established pond with fish,frogs, aquatic plant growth, etc. I could potentially hook up a sump pump to use this as a source for irrigation.

Are there any benefitial nutrients or microbes typically present in ponds that would make this worth while over simply using rain water or tap?

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Dchall_San_Antonio
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Re: Using pond for irrigation

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » March 27th, 2019, 9:39 am

The problem with doing that is slime buildup inside the irrigation system. The slime is caused by bacteria in the water and cannot be prevented. The slime is bad news in the sense that it is harmful to the biology and not beneficial. It can be cleaned with a brush, but that is likely to be impractical.

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HoosierLawnGnome
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Re: Using pond for irrigation

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » March 27th, 2019, 8:10 pm

Also, how small is small, and how much are you watering? Let's say slime wasnt an issue, an inch of water on an acre is many thousands of gallons.....

Check iron levels and be aware of iron staining if you go well water.

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