# ? Natural water holes in creek beds **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 11, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789 "2025-11-11T20:18:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/1 "2025-11-11T20:18:03Z")
I have always lived in the city so I don’t have much reference on this. If I had a small creek, maybe 3 ft wide running through my property that was about 4 ft below grade, just for an example. If I were to dig out a chosen area around the creek to form a water hole, how would natural erosion affect the water hole over time? Would it grow? would it have to be maintained at some level? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/2 "2025-11-11T20:21:06Z")
You describe a _cistern._ Rudimentary one. Look that up. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/3 "2025-11-11T20:23:47Z")
It would fill with sediment. But if you’re digging a hole, it’s not natural. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/4 "2025-11-11T20:24:12Z")
It might also be illegal to do if it affects the water flow for people downstream from you. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/5 "2025-11-11T21:12:03Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > It would fill with sediment. But if you’re digging a hole, it’s not natural. Yes, I was thinking of natural water holes I have come across while hiking alongside creeks. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > It might also be illegal to do if it affects the water flow for people downstream from you No issue here, just a short creek that flows into a bigger one. Pretty sure it is just fed from groundwater and doesn’t have much real flow to it. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/6 "2025-11-11T21:17:49Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > No issue here, just a short creek that flows into a bigger one. It is if your new watering hole causes sediment downstream or to detour to another path.. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/7 "2025-11-11T21:24:24Z")
If it’s really 4 feet below grade, would a dam fill it up? ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/8 "2025-11-11T21:36:58Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > No issue here, just a short creek that flows into a bigger one. Pretty sure it is just fed from groundwater and doesn’t have much real flow to it. Don’t be so sure. In California and throughout the American west, water rights are a thing. Altering the downstream flow to those that have water rights senior to yours could result in costly litigation. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2025, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/9 "2025-11-12T01:41:46Z")
As every old western tells us, water rights could get the varmits after you. Them’s fighten’ words! ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2025, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/10 "2025-11-12T02:44:27Z")
If the water hole was right next to the creek, once it filled up, the creek downstream wouldn’t know the difference. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2025, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/11 "2025-11-12T02:55:55Z")
That was my thought as well ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2025, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/12 "2025-11-12T12:16:44Z")
For something that takes minutes or a couple hours to fill, the downstream effect is short enough in time that decent bet nothing will change. If your new pond takes a month to fill so the downstream flow is zero for a month, that is going to change a bunch of things when the water flow is restored into the now dry streambed. Lotta plants and animals will have suffered, the flow path may come back differently, etc. Scale matters. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2025, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/13 "2025-11-12T23:57:54Z")
Somewhat off topic, but there is a quite large arroyo close to my workplace that is almost always completely dry. Sometimes in the really hot summer I find places where the coyotes have dug a hole in the channel deep enough to get a drink of water. I find that interesting. Would those count as “natural water holes in creek beds”? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/14 "2025-11-13T03:22:47Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > uld those count as “natural water holes in creek beds”? I would say yes, it would. The place I am thinking of would fill with water if I went down a few feet. The only reason I was thinking of a stream is so the water would slowly flush itself. I am thinking of a wildlife pond, both for aquatic small animals and birds. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-water-holes-in-creek-beds/1024789/15 "2025-11-13T03:38:11Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > The only reason I was thinking of a stream is so the water would slowly flush itself. Natural streams don’t work that way. They carry sediment and muck, which fills in over time. A real heavy rain can flush that stuff downstream, but it’d likely only flush the stuff to the original natural streambed, while your hole fills up with sand and silt.