Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Spring Fed

My brother and I were recently doing some work at our pond (aprx. 1.75 acres) that is currently a few feet below full pool. The portion that is not currently under water is extremely dry and cracked (due to the lack of rainfall). While doing this work we noticed that there was a small wet trail that came from a patch of grass and led into our pond. We followed that damp trail from the pond to the grass and noticed that the whole area around the grass was very soft and wet (this area will be under water at full pool). I guess our pond is actuall spring fed. The water is just seeping out of the ground very slowly. Is the any way to increase the volume of water that is seeping from this spring(it would be really nice to have a full pond year round)? Thanks, Ragu

TheBigRagu,

You pose a very interesting question....and your desires for a source of water are very understandable. However, I have painfully learned over the years that all springs are not alike and that what a spring giveth, it can also take away.

What I'm offering to you is that I have had experience in which a spring which is flowing water when exposed, actually reverses flow when covered by water in the pond. I learned this from an old time pond builder here in East Texas when I gleefully announced the discovery of a spring to him and was told to cover it up with two feet of clay.

You may want to get someone, such as an engineer or really experienced pond builder, to look at your spring to determine if it is a good thing or not. Not all springs are good...nor I'm sure all bad either.

Welcome to the Forum!

I cleaned out a spring using a backhoe. The small pond was directly above my larger pond. Never again. Even during 2004 when we had record rains the pond did not fill. Thus a large amount of runoff to my large pond was stopped. It is just about dry now and I'm going to attempt to stop it up.

As ML and Robinson say, be very careful. It might be good under certain circumstances but most stories of springs and ponds are like mine.

Robinson,

If it were me, I'd start packing.

Robinson, Yeah, I figure it is gone. Although, it does appear to maintain a wet spot during the meanest summers. The problem is that it is a seep spring. It absolutely takes more than it gives.

If I had a seep on the side of my pond, I would try cement or something and stuff it inside the hole. I have absolutely no idea what to do with a leak of any kind on the side. Maybe some pond builders can answer this one. That sounds scary.

Looking forward to that post.

Thanks alot for all the information... I do not think we will have any problems due to the location of the spring. We went without rain (except for a few times all summer)and the pond held water pretty well. Thanks again... Ragu

If it's still dry in your area and you have a seep up high in the pond, that's very good news. As the ground/water table become wetter, the seep will only go higher.

If the seep is low in the pond, it could be good news or bad news. It depends on the height of the SOURCE of the seep. It has little to do with where the seep appears above ground.

Good luck, and keep us posted!