how to build a man made lake with islands?

Question

what resources (books internet degrees) that would inform me on making a man made lake or use an existing lake to build islands in the middle or at least a parcel of land in the middle of the lake that has a strip of land going back to dry land. I am interesting in making my dream house and trying to figure out how to do it.

Answer 1

That would be cost prohibitive for the average person.

Creating a small Pond on your own property would cost you many 1000s of dollars.

There are too many challenges to list here at this time.

However, The US Army Corp. of Engineers are experts in this area.

Try this site first:

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rls=PCTA,PCTA:2006-41,PCTA:en&q=army+corp+of+engineers

Good Luck

Answer 2

As a superintendent who has done this before (they don't call me BigSuper for nothing, you know), what you are talking about can be complicated depending upon the geology, seismic forces, and other forces / variables that are in your area.

The best idea is to go see a technical and civil engineer. They would have the experience required to start turning your ideas into reality, and may be able to give you rough pricing as you go along. They ain't cheap, but that cost pays for itself down the road. You wouldn't want your island sinking to the lake, taking your house with it, would you?

To give you an idea, there are several ways to building a man made island in an existing natural body of water. 1) Dump dirt underwater until the dirt is above the water level. Of course, it's more complicated than this, but that's the basic jist of it. 2) Put in a cofferdam, then fill up the cofferdam with dirt.

If you are really serious about this, you need to go see a Professional Engineer licensed by the state that you live in.