The little dams I built throughout the woods suppose to stop the water and be big enough to not fill completely up, but I did not realize how much water can rush through the steep valleys. So I started building emergency spillways even for my little vernal ponds.
This vernal pond is a good example of what I want for my other vernal ponds that have water go over their dams. The water is going around the end of the dam and does not wreck the integrity of the dam. The depth of the water is around 8′ deep when it this full.