Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions New Lake Leaking

I had a 3 acre lake built in South Texas about 3 months ago. I have been filling it up with well water. It was filling up perfectly and then all of the sudden after 2 months and about 5 feet from being completely full, it started leaking very bad. It dropped about 6 feet in less than a week. I have continued to run water in and it is staying about the same depth.

I am supposed to have fish delivered next week. Any ideas? Thanks.

Cancel the fish, call Mike Otto

I second that.

I would also quit filling it. I am afraid that it will just keep washing out more.

More details please. The advice you've been given is good.

When was it built?

Was it keyed?

Was there any clay?

Did you find gravel anywhere?

Etc.

cancelled the fish and turned off the water. It was built in September and the bottom was solid clay. The bottom almost felt like concrete the clay was so good. We found some areas where there was caliche but not really any gravel.

Haven't talked with the Seepage control staff, but I probably will as Spring comes along.

I have a new pond as well, all clay lined & packed. Filled really well during our first week of rain, made it to the top and held with just a trickle running in, and out over the spillway.

however, after a couple days without rain, the inbound runoff stopped and soon it started to drop. Lost 2-3 ft over the past week.

I'll give it some time to settle, pack in, and seal over the winter. With 30" of rain coming between now and May I'm sure we'll get the chance to fill & drain a few times.

Like to hear any other experiences of ponds needing some "settling" time before making a full seal. (or am I kidding myself ? )

Hey TYT-LNZ....
Hmmmm....not good, eh? Out of respect for CBRanch's thread and cry for help, why don't we get a new thread started specifically for you. Click on "New topic" and cut and paste your request as the first post. Then, you can come back to this post, hit edit, and delete post. No biggie, just a good idea so we can stay focus-specific. Your call.
Also, take a look at this leaking pond thread .

Call Otto....940.736.5333. He will have good advice. Solve the leak issues first.

Does Otto post on this forum?

I have a couple of questions that may be helpful to pinpoint your problem.
1. How many gallons of well water are you pumping in?
2. Is the level staying the same only because of the amount of water being pumped in?
3. Do you have any leakage signs?
4. Do you have any idea what the current footage of the water is?
You can reach me at my office (phone answered by secretary 8 to 12 mon to fri) at 940-665-2258 or email me at mikeotto@ntin.net and I will be happy to discuss this problem with you by phone appointment or set an appointment to come and view the site.

I am out of Georgia, would you be willing to help me over the phone or Email??

Any advice or help would be GREATLY apprciated..

You can contact me by phone 940.665.2258 or email me at mikeotto@ntin.net. I would be happy to give you any assistance I can.

Sounds like a blowout to me. There was probably a thin layer of soil covering a rock crevice or soil pipe. When the pressure became great enough the soil 'creeped' and caved in. With such a sudden occurence and obviously tremendous flow (1 ft/day) I can't imagine what else it could be. What I would do is this. Choose a nice calm day with little wind. Buy several bales of good wheat straw and scatter it evenly over the pond surface. Then turn on your pump and pump water into the pond just as fast as you can. (may require more temporary pumps to generate sufficient flow) Then watch the straw until you see some sort of pattern develop possibly a slowly rotating whirlpool or straw accumulating at a particular point near the shore. You'll probably have to drain the pond to fix it. A sudden leak like that should leave a pretty good mark on the basin.