The lowest part of our field gets soggy every winter as the water table rises with the winter rains. This year it’s not just soggy but we have been splashing through running water which then pours across our neighbour’s field and down to the stream at the bottom.
We are wondering about digging an étang and have talked to our neighbour about it. He’s fine about it and would welcome it as it means that his field will be better drained. We would have to install some form of pump and drainage for when the étang fills to take off the excess water into a ditch which runs alongside our field.
Before we embark on this, I’d be grateful for any information from people who have done this. Things we need to bear in mind.
I’m assuming we should tell the mayor. Anyone else?
It may sound silly, but we’ve no idea how big to make it. Also. it’s not at all apparent where the water is coming from - there is no spring for example. It’s just welling out of the ground in various places. How can we be certain that we are going to trap it in the étang?
Our neighbour has recommended a local firm to do the work. Anything we should be checking with them? Or be prepared to tell them?
I don’t know about digging an etang, but I knew someone that had one and there were quite a few strict rules, which made it expensive to maintain and repair (I think they had to have a sluice installed too). Might be easier just to dig a ditch to connect to the existing one.
Locally, a couple did what you are thinking of… and it came back to bite them a few years down the line… when they decided to sell and this “unknown” etang was suddenly under the spotlight… and they nearly lost their Buyer.
Long story short… as @Mark suggests… there are rules and regulations… with safeguards for Water, Nature, Environment and the Neighbours etc …
The Water Gendarmes were hot on it…
A couple of Site visits and indepth discussions with the Owners (me translating)… Every aspect was investigated, double -checked and after advising a few bits … off they went… to return a couple of weeks later, to doublecheck and give their seal of approval…
The etang is now officially listed and conforming and the Sale finally went through… hurrah.
so… I suggest you speak with your Mairie… things might be different in your part of France… you might be able do whatever you like… but best to err on the side of caution I reckon…
I have an etang which came with the property, is fed from a small stream and is shown on maps so I cannot remove it without very extensive and expensive bureaucracy. During the winter the land between it and a hilly area gets swamped - presumably through drainage from the hill area. My plan to cure this is to dig a deep trench and install a perforated pipe, then backfill. The end of the pipe will be where the etang drains back into the stream. My local mayor says this will not be a problem and will not require contacting the river authorities as it is rainwater that would eventually drain into the stream without my intervention. This might be a solution for you - creating an etang would be fine in the winter but you would have an empty hole in the summer when it doesn’t rain and the etang had drained into the ditch.
The etang won’t drain into the ditch. The bottom end of our field is lower than the ditch. Hence our need for a pump should the etang be filled to capacity to get the excess water into the ditch. Otherwise it will just flow back onto our neighbour’s field as it does now.
My example is not really a suitable one to follow. Not that I did anything wrong, or that there were bad consequences, just that simply through sheer ignorance and innocence, I went ahead, bought a mini-digger, and started digging.
No body bothers but with hindsight I should have sensibly talked to the Maire first, always the best advice in France.
It sounds like I have another advantage too, as my big pond, the one that I swim in, is hidden from the sun by the surrounding and overhanging tress, there was no discernable drop in its level, even in the drought.
Hi Sue,
Check out the rules and reps for creating an étang.
About 30 odd years ago the company I worked for applied for permission to create five lakes, the smallest one covering about 1000m2 and the largest about 4 hectares. The authorities were very strict and rigid rules had to be observed. We actually created three lakes and didn’t bother with the other two due to cost. A Class A stream flowed nearby and that had to be protected. The rules are strict so ask the local Prefecture about what you can and can’t do. I heard a few years back that the Hte Vienne stopped giving permission for new lakes saying that there were already enough in the department.
Do your homework and find out what you can or can’t do. We faced opposition from some farmers who delayed our project due to fears that they would be deprived of water for their fields etc. A similar project in the Charente faced a couple of years of delays thanks to the environmentalists claiming that a certain type of frog would be wiped out !
Reading all the above makes me wonder, is there a legal difference between a bassin and an etang? If so, is it concerned with size or whether or not it is fed by, or drained into, a watercourse? Pretty sure that neither affects me, but just wondered.
Interesting reading the link provided by @Peter_Bird
A pond which is fed by underground water/spring/stream and has an outlet… is an “etang” and subject to certain regulations… including regular emptying and cleaning…
A pond which has no outlet and is not fed other than by rainfall… is a mare… and that’s a different kettle of fish…
though it’s all probably more complicated than that.
I can’t get to my Mairie today… but I suggest you think about what you want to do… and discuss with your Mairie in the first instance… they should advise you if you should contact the “Water Rats” .
I do remember that overall size was important, as well as the gradual deepening of the water, it’s max depth and how it was fed etc etc . These Brits had bought the place donkeys years ago… and the etang was already there… although possibly just a mare which they enlarged…
They had no idea that Water Rats should be involved, or that the etang should have been registered and controlled regularly over the decades…
Ah but you’ll need the lock for a tourist attraction, 5-6 semi submerged old tyres and an out of focus picture and your on your way to millions of euros.
