Benefits

Ponds can provide the following benefits in addition to the provision of irrigation water.

Ponds are commonly used on ranches for stock watering. Cattle and horses require 12-15 gallons of water per day. Rather than allow the stock to drink directly from the pond, a more environmentally friendly innovation is to fence the pond and use solar pumps to move water into troughs for the cattle.

Ponds are often used for frost protection, particularly on wine grapes. The use of water for this purpose typically ranges from 0.4-1.6 inches of water in a year. There has been an effort on the north coast to take water from abutting streams in the winter and put it into ponds in order to avoid pumping from the streams for frost protection, something that has affected streamflows and stranded fish in the past. 

Ponds can be managed to provide wildlife habitat. Although any pond will attract waterfowl, a number of RCDs, Audubon California, and other organizations have been working with farmers to plant native habitat around farm ponds. Researchers are also exploring the use of such ponds to re-introduce native fish species, for example an effort to raise threatened Sacramento perch in Yolo and Solano counties.

Ponds constructed primarily for fish production, typically at least a half-acre in size and a minimum depth of 8 feet, can yield 100-300 pounds of fish per year for each acre of water surface.

Ponds can assist in flood control by capturing and slowing the flow of water through a watershed. Particularly as climate change leads to greater storm flows, a distributed network of ponds could play an important role in attenuating peak flows and reducing flooding.

Ponds help recharge groundwater. Whether filled with water diverted from a stream or with tailwater from irrigation, clay-lined ponds seep water into the ground at highly variable rates (anywhere from 500-10,000 gallons/day depending on size and construction), but typical seepage loss from a well-sealed pond is estimated at one foot of water per year. Every acre of pond would thus on average recharge groundwater with one acre foot—or 325,000 gallons—of water a year.

Storing water captured from rainfall or from tailwater in on-farm ponds can also reduce energy use by displacing pumped groundwater. Even if ponds are used to store pumped or delivered water, there can be a cost savings associated with energy. During the summer months when energy costs are the highest, having on-farm water storage also allows you to pump groundwater during the off-peak times (like at night) when electricity is cheapest and the electric grid is not constrained, rather than pumping during the most expensive and on-peak periods.

Ponds at least one acre-foot in size can serve as water sources for fire protection if they are sited in proximity to structures.

Ponds can be used to settle and filter farm runoff, capturing soil that can be returned to fields and filtering pollutants and particulates that would otherwise negatively impact the broader ecosystem.

A more localized and distributed water supply can offset water transported from distant reservoirs, reducing the energy needed for water conveyance.