All constructed ponds, no matter whether they are stocked with fish or used as evaporation ponds, must comply with pertinent regulations and jurisdictional zoning and inspection requirements. It is vital that design professionals and construction specialists be consulted early in the process, and that requirements are followed exactly, especially if an evaporation pond is to be used to separate potentially toxic chemicals, metals and organic compounds that must be transported elsewhere for storage or disposal. That being said, there is little about a shallow evaporation pond that is difficult to understand or implement. Perhaps the most serious consideration is the availability of suitable level land to use as a site for the pond. Little excavation is needed, and shallow ponds are typically constructed with minimal support – they require a large footprint but minimal depth. They must be designed not to overflow, but that is an engineering matter. They are typically left uncovered, and it is the sun and wind that do all the work.
The actual surface should be as level as possible. A pond intended for large scale commercial use may be designed with dedicated instrumentation and monitoring software to detect leaks and liner failures. Such equipment is designed and installed by companies that specialize in working with industrial and commercial users of evaporation ponds, mining operation leach pads and agricultural ponds, or other applications that use HDPE-lined constructed ponds or in-ground basins. These companies frequently supply full GPS coordinates, and complete mapping of a project installation to record and identify the exact location and magnitude of any leak, so that appropriate corrective measures can be swiftly implemented.
