My wife and I own three acres in Indiana. We have a flooding and ponding problem in our two small fields. It makes gardening hard, sometimes it can be muddy until late may or even June. Our largest field ponds with any rainfall because a large farm field drains into it through a French drain under the road. We want to pasture sheep or goats there, but I don't even know if I could find a totally suitable location for a shelter.
I need a plan to divert, retain, and gradually release runoff so that I can use my land.
I would like to excavate a large pond to hold the runoff. I think that I can dig a 30' Wx 40'Lx~6-8'deep pond with a principal spillway 40'x40'x1.5'. I want to plant the spill way with native floodplain trees and flora. I would like habitat for wood ducks and fish.
We're outside the city limits, but there are probably code and zoning ordinances to navigate. Where do I start navigating through the government?