Got my soil boring done last week right next to the pond to a depth of 25ft. Pond was originally about 4ft (to top of muck, plus several feet of muck). Any thoughts on suitability based on the report? Current plan is to have a 3/4 acre pond with depth up to 10-20ft if achievable.
00-02ft - Non-Plastic - Brown Silty Clay with Gravel
02-04ft - 29.6% MC - 37% LL - 15% PI - Reddish Brown and Gray Silty Clay
04-06ft - 29.2% MC - 35% LL - 15% PI - Reddish Brown and Gray Silty Clay
06-08ft - 25.3% MC - 27% LL - 10% PI - Reddish Brown and Gray Silty Clay (Soft/Wet)
08-10ft - 29.7% MC - 35% LL - 13% PI - Reddish Brown and Gray Silty Clay (Soft/Wet)
10-15ft - 22.1% MC - 45% LL - 25% PI - Tan Clay (stiff)
15-20ft - 30.7% MC - 50% LL - 28% PI - Tan and Red Clay (stiff)
20-25ft - 33.5% MC - 53% LL - 30% PI - Reddish Tan Clay (stiff)
There seems to be less info on the report than I expected. I read elsewhere on the forum that PI of 13-30 is ideal based on Otto's book. I ordered the book probably 5 weeks ago but have been out of town and won't get back home for another week - I'll be eagerly reading once I return.
I was thinking of picking up a 100mL graduated cylinder and doing a shake/settle test to estimate clay/silt percentages when I get back home. I expected this info to be in the report. Should I send soil samples to an Ag lab now or wait until the pond is dug out so that I'm getting samples from the various strata?
Got core samples from the soil testing company. The pencil test told me more or less what I needed to know, here shown with samples from 2-4ft and from 8-10 depth. I was tempted to send off samples to LSU Ag department for analysis but figured I'd better wait until the pond is finished and be sure I'm getting samples from various places in the pond rather than from a fixed core at one area.