TOPSHAM — The Androscoggin Valley Soil and Water Conservation District teamed up with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to present a “Pond Walk and Talk” workshop Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Topsham Public Safety building.

New conservation district Manager Jocelyn Lahey organized the event, which attracted about a dozen participants from southern and central Maine. The workshop was led by NRCS engineer Candi Gilpatric, who drew upon her 27 years of experience with the agency to provide attendees with a wealth of practical technical information on pond building and maintenance.

The classroom session highlighted important considerations when planning to build a pond on private land, including size, location, features, type (embankment vs. excavated), desired uses, and local and state regulations. Some of the most common uses of ponds discussed were for fish, fire protection, water retention, recreation, livestock watering and irrigation.

Before investing time and money into construction, Gilpatric stressed the importance of researching soils and digging test pits to make sure the site can hold water. She pointed out to the group that the NRCS Web Soil Survey (http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm) is a publicly available online tool that provides users with information about the soils mapped on their property and beyond.

Joe Dembeck, a fisheries biologist and executive director of the Somerset County Soil and Water Conservation District, offered insight on questions related to fish and wildlife habitat.

The workshop concluded with a short field trip to the pond at the L&P Bisson & Sons Farm to see many of the key construction and habitat features discussed in the classroom.