Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Clay Question

I recently built a pond about 1/4 acre in size. It has been steadily leaking. I think that it has been seeping out. I plan to put around 15 yards of clay from Silver Creek Materials, which is near my house. The clay that they said was available was called "Blue Clay". I plan on tilling it in with my existing soil and then compacting it. My questions are =
1) Have you ever heard of this type of clay?
2) Do you think that this will work or at least help slow the seepage? (It loses about 1/2 - 1" of water per 24 hours.)

Hey kftworth!
When my contractor (a regionally respected pond-builder) hit the blue clay within our pondsite, his grin went ear-to-ear. He said that it doesn't get much better. This tells me that, when properly used, you are definitely on the right track.

1/2" - 1" per day loss due to evaporation is a commonly occurring rate in the hot months - I assume you are losing this much currently after TX has cooled off, so that evaporative loss would be expected to be notably less.

Also remember that a newly-filled pond suffers water loss as the surrounding soils become saturated. Even the best clay in a properly constructed pond will soak up water during the initial time period after the pond fills (the duration of this phenomena has been discussed here previously, and IMHO it can last on the order of several months).

kftworth,

Soakage loss is most noticeable in smaller ponds, and can be alarming at first. The soaking-in period that Theo mentioned can suck up vast amounts of water for weeks, but usually starts tapering off. Any tapering off of water loss is a very good sign. A pond that truly leaks will often not taper off, or even leak faster with time. I think I would give it plenty of time before adding the clay, maybe a month or 6 weeks. Good luck!

So many of these clay suppliers have way too little knowledge of their products. What does the blue clay look like? Is it stiff and heavy or is it runny like bentonite?

If they are going to sell it, they need to learn what they are doing !!!