Farm Pond "Riviera" Makes Summertime Fun

Farm Pond Riviera Makes Summertime Fun FARM HOME Miscellaneous Looking at the ocean blue water and the white beach it’s hard to believe that Jerry Leussink’s bit of paradise is located smack dab in the middle of his Alberta farm     The “beach” is actually a heavy-duty polypropylene white liner commonly used to line ponds It was carefully stretched up the sides of the pond and secured with large boulders and rocks around the perimeter of the 4-ft beach     “The liner helps prevent the growth of weeds and I can scrub it to keep it clean and comfortable for swimming ” Leussink says     The “ocean” is a 110 by 90-ft pond Leussink dug with a backhoe It slopes gradually to about 14 ft deep at the deepest end Leussink regularly cleans the pool and adds chlorine and chemicals used in swimming pools as well as True Blue pond dye that gives the water its color and helps prevent sunlight from penetrating and growing algae     “The biggest problem is algae ” Leussink says “Anything that blows in there creates food for the algae That’s why I keep it clean ”     He uses a solar aerator and spends 15 to 20 hrs a month clearing and sucking up dirt pine needles and sediment with a vacuum he made with 60 ft of hose pvc pipe and a 2-in pump Water removed with the sediment is emptied out onto the surrounding grass     After a couple of years use Leussink pumped the pond dry last spring to give it a thorough cleaning It took more than a month to refill it with his well pump – an estimated 350 000 gallons     Leussink and his family spend a lot of time in their private pool during the summer With deck chairs inflatable toys a sand box camping sites horseshoe pit and other games they have a relaxing 2-acre recreation area It’s the favored location for family reunions and Leussink and his wife Marina swim and relax there often     He estimates it cost about $18 000 to set up If he were to build it again he would make some changes     “I would build it smaller and less deep because it would be easier to maintain It doesn’t have to be quite as big as it is ” Leussink says He also had some runoff with rains last spring which might have been avoided if the pond was on slightly higher ground     One thing he’d like different is something he can’t change – the weather     “We probably only get about three months where the pond is comfortable enough to swim in – from June through August ” he notes     He plans to build a small building with a wood-heated hot tub and changing room suitable for winter ice skating parties     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jerry Leussink Box 19 Site 117 RR 3 Sundre Alta Canada T0M 1X0 ph 403 638-3972; jmarina@telus net