Spring Creek can assist you with a variety of pond projects including:

• Swimming Ponds

• Fishing Ponds

• Combination Ponds

• Wildlife Garden Ponds

• Ornamental Ponds / Water Features

We are Biologists who design completely natural wildlife ponds by using creative scientific techniques that result in the highest quality aquatic habitats possible from an aesthetic, biological and economical basis. Knowledge is our primary tool instead of equipment, filters, chemicals and additives. Take time to read our thoughts and technical information in this site to see the knowledge we offer. The Planning - Design guide , Faqs , Technical Faqs and Myths pages are full of insights to help you develop the wildlife pond, stream or lake of your dreams.

Successful wildlife ponds depend on pond habitats that function naturally in order to produce the variety of forage and cover habitat found in nature. In order to function naturally, your wildlife pond needs to be designed with particular species of wildlife in mind. For instance, if a pond is intended to attract deer or elk, the pond seal needs to be strong enough to prevent puncturing the seal with sharp hooves. Frog ponds require soft sediments to provide over-wintering habitat.

Recently it has become popular for small pond builders to use plastics to seal their ponds. From what we have seen, the vast majority of these "ponds" require frequent cleaning and/or water changes. This does not meet our definition of natural since these ponds are not cleaning themselves. Natural ponds have the ability to clean their own wastes. Natural ponds also develop the complex assemblages of invertebrates such as insects, amphipods (freshwater shrimp), worms, leeches, daphnia, crawfish and molluscs. Cleaning disrupts the pond ecology which doesn't allow the establishment of a robust array of forage that supports the more aesthetic species such as frogs, shorebirds, ducks, geese, otters and mink. A couple of these species may be present, but they may only be transient residents of the pond and not able to complete their full life cycle like they could in a completely natural pond or lake. One other not so minor detail is the lack of maintenance naturally function ponds require. The phrase "natural pond" has become a very misused marketing phrase to sell poorly functioning ponds. Besides the lack of necessary cleaning, one other thing to look for to define a naturally functioning pond is to ask if any additives such as bacteria are required by the pond. A naturally functioning pond can easily develop its own bacterial colonies sufficent to decompose organic wastes. Obviously any other additives are an additional sign of these less than natural ponds.

A few examples of highly aesthetic wildlife that may visit our naturally functioning ponds and lakes include: wood ducks, mallards, song birds, loons, Canadian geese, frogs, fish, mink, otter, beaver, deer, and elk. This is a short list; there are many many more examples. One of our favorite images is a pair of brightly colored wood ducks on a pond and surrounding landscape habitat that was designed to provide food, shelter and mating habitat to allow these native species to complete their life cycle just outside your picture windows.

Along with the natural wildlife ponds and lakes we have become well known for, we also design:

SWIMMING PONDS

Since we had already developed techniques to make a pond colder than normal, we realized we can also design ponds to be warmer than usual. This would be perfect for swimming and warm water habitat. Ponds for swimming are becoming increasingly popular since the water stays as clear as the rest of our designs, and swimming ponds cost roughly 20 % of what a pool would cost! There are also the added benefits that you can have a beach along a swimming pond, as well as ponds are very low maintenance when built correctly. Additionally, our ponds can be integrated into the heat pump for your home to save on your heating and air conditioning. Your house stays cooler while your pond warms for swimming.

COMBINATION PONDS

With careful planning and design, we have also developed techniques to allow certain areas of a pond to warm for swimming while keeping a large cold area for fish such as trout. This all-in-one design is our most versatile habitat for people and fish.

GARDEN WILDLIFE PONDS

While our reputation is built on complex larger ponds and lakes for fishing, our proprietary techniques lend themselves very well to the more personal size landscaping ponds. We have developed a special design technique for very small ponds to maintain heavier populations of ornamental fish without the significant added expense of pond filters. These science based techniques allow the owner to save a great deal of money when compared to the usual liner and filter type pond designs. Our designs also utilize principles of aquatic biology and chemistry to be much more efficient and lower maintenance than the typical garden pond. Best of all is the fact that your garden pond will be completely natural. You will have no need for commercial chemicals and your pond will maintain itself naturally.

WATER FEATURES and ORNAMENTAL PONDS

Spring Creek is leading a trend towards natural water features and landscape ponds for public places such as housing developments, office complexes and golf courses. With our techniques, we provide pristine quality environments that will support fish and wildlife that bring nature into the city. These habitats become star features that attract commerce while providing fish and wildlife habitat. Our goal is to benefit both business and the natural environment. Read more in our Business and Environmental Philosophy area.

We look forward to discussing the possibilities of bringing your water to life!