Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Mister Worst Case Scenario-- visit needed

I think it was Prarie Home Companion that used to have a regular spot called "Mister Worst Case Scenario." They'd give him a simple plan like "I'm going away on vaction next week." Mister WCS would then give a list of everything that could go wrong. I need a visit from Mister WCS.

My neighbor came up to the porch on Sunday with the idea for a fishing lake. He wants to damn the creek that runs through our properties and build a 4+ acre impoundment.



I've marked the current property line. Red is property with road frontage that I would receive in trade. Blue is what I would give him in return. It's the side of a hill, most of which he owns. We'd fix things so that we both own down to the creek. I've also plotted the minimum encompassed by the new impoundment. It would probably be wider than that; I'm being conservative. It's fed by a spring behind his house.

There is loggable timber in the blue area. We figure we'll use the proceeds from that to help fund the dam. He thinks the dam can be done for about $20K. I've offered to go in half up to $10K. I've offered the land trade before, without the idea of the lake entering into it.
The blue property is an area we've hardly ever gone to in the 19 years we've been there; it's hard to get to. I hiked it last about 5 years ago.


Plusses for me:

1) I get the road frontage directly across the road from my front porch. I'll control the view. I may let my sons build on it later so they have lake-front cabins.
2) I'll get better than 1/3 of the lake frontage at the widest part.
3) I'll be able to sit on my front porch and see a lake.
4) I'd also figured I'd build a pond once I retire there and I'd figured a budget of $10K to get it done. This gives me a much bigger lake than I'd planned for about the same budget.

Plusses for him:
1) He gets the rest of the hill he currently owns
2) He gets a lake directly behind the house-- maybe 8 feet deep.
3) It cleans up a boundary that his father disputed with me from the day we met. He claimed about 5 acres on the other side of the current boundary and removed the survey stakes that had been placed when we bought the place.

So, Mister Worst Case Scenario, wherever you are, tell me what can possibly go wrong.