Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations we hit gravel - what to do next? - Pics added

Let me take a stab at it Russ (no Jack involved). I think it's a matter of hitting gravel vs. hitting an aquifer.

Hit a vein/pocket of gravel (or sand) and you have to ensure it doesn't provide a leak out of the pond (especially thru the dam - we would like to avoid all leaks, but a dam leak could cause to a catastrophic dam failure). If it's small, you could dig it out and not put it in the dam without mixing it with a lot of clay.

Hit an aquifer and you know for certain you've got a working water path in & out of the pond. Leave it unsealed and your pond level will fluctuate with the level of water in the aquifier - could be seasonally up and down; if it's not an isolated aquifer I guess it would tend to drop long term, as many/most aquifers in the country are dropping due to development, agricultural use for irrigation, etc. (the Oglala Aquifer in Middle America is dropping somewhere in the inches to feet range every year, no recovery ever expected).

I don't recall the "pack it and pray" advice either, but we have discussed more than one pond that was tied into an aquifer. I think they all would have been ahead if the connection could have been sealed and severed. ETW is at the point in time where he hopefully can do this.