An artificial pond is a body of water confined on all sides, and constructed by removing earth, stone, or other land material from a site and filling the excavation with a stable supply of water. An open pit such as a quarry can be converted to an artificial pond after excavation in it has been completed.

Artificial ponds do not include lakes formed by dams or by the expansion of existing ponds, lakes, rivers, or natural bodies of water.

The excavated basin is the source of the pond's form. Water impounded by a dam or an enlarged natural water body has a different origin and remains outside the stated scope.