Pond & Stream Care

Make the most of your private Missouri lake or pond. Topics include brief technical sheets known as Aquaguides and other pond-related info to help you control water plants, improve fishing and frogging, build and maintain better ponds, and manage your pond's water quality.

Learn best practices for building near Missouri streams, stabilizing stream banks, and sustainable sand and gravel removal.

In This Section

Ponds: Plant Management

Find resources to help you learn how to manage your Missouri pond's vegetation.

Ponds: Fish & Frog Management

Help improve your Missouri pond's fish and frog populations.

Ponds: Construction & Maintenance

We show you how to build, stock, and care for your Missouri pond.

Ponds: Water Quality

How to clear your Missouri pond of muddy water, minimize fish kills, and how annual turnover may affect your pond's water quality.

Streams: Sand and Gravel Problems

Prevent erosion problems on your Missouri property by practicing sustainable sand and gravel removal. This page explains how.

Streams: Construction Best Practices

Safeguard Missouri's waterways and fish during construction projects. Browse best management practices for building near streams.

Streams: Tree Revetments Stabilize Stream Banks

A tree revetment, made by anchoring trees along a stream bank, is an inexpensive, effective way of stopping stream bank erosion.

Missouri Pond Handbook (pdf, 1 MB)

Learn how to develop and manage a new fishing pond, manage an old pond, and solve common pond problems.

Missouri Watershed Protection Practice (pdf, 664 KB)

This 40-page publication helps MDC staff and loggers protect streams during timber harvest and related treatments on MDC-managed areas.

Understanding Streams

Learn how streams work and what you can do to ensure they will continue to function properly.

Classic Stream Problems

Landowners can learn how to properly deal with many of the challenges of living along streams.

Related Content:

Missouri Aquaculture Directory

Use this searchable Missouri Department of Agriculture database to find Missouri fish producers and other aquaculture services for your private pond or lake.

Species Impact: Best Practices

Safeguard Missouri's waterways and fish during construction projects. Browse best management practices for building near streams.

Our Magazines

Conservationist Magazine

Our monthly publication about conservation in Missouri--free to all residents.

Xplor Magazine for kids

Xplor helps kids find adventure in their own backyard. Free to residents of Missouri.