Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Pond sealing

Hey guys I’m new here. I purchased a property 18 months ago that has a 2 acre pond on it. The pond was only half full when I purchased it. It had a 30 year old spill pipe that was obviously leaking. I had that repaired a year ago and the pond only came up about 10 inches. It’s still 2 feet from being full. According to the fella that did the pipe repair, the soul is very sandy. He believes he can seal it with chicken manure. It’s an I sore right now with all the algae everywhere. I have no experience on pond maintenance and looking for help. I hope I posted this in the right place.

He likely cannot seal it with chicken manure. That manure will grow huge amounts of algae (moss). It could be sealed with a compacted clay liner.

Only clay or clay based products have been found to seal ponds. I would run, not walk, from a guy that thinks chicken manure can form a barrier.

While I do not advocate for sealing a pond with manure, the combination of manure and livestock compacting ponds and sealing them is a thing. Manure alone can be effective as well (e.g. Gley method). This is a very old and low-tech method. Below is just one example (page 13).

https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/50701000/cswq-t1239-jamison.pdf

Thanks for the advise. What could I expect to pay for that type of service. The pond is 2 acres. Cost of clay and the cost of hiring the work done? Was quoted $5-6k on the manure method.

Do you know if you have any good clay in the pond basin? Should be cheaper if the clay is already on site, and mining it would increase water depth (win-win). Also, consider that the manure method may not work (as with any remediation). Might want to see if that contractor is willing to provide any guarantee? If not, you might get a clue to his confidence in making it work.

Not sure about clay in the basin. Locals have told me this pond was built in the 50’s and that the water level has always been up and down but never always full. Contractor says he’s used this method a dozen times with success.

Also the contractor told me when he replaced the spillway pipe that there didn’t appear to be a core in the dam. I hear that was not real uncommon long ago. I can say for certainty that the dirt out there is sandy.

Sometimes nothing works to seal a pond, short of an impenetrable rubber, plastic, or concrete liner. I have been trying to fix my leaks for nearly three years now. Almost ready to fill it in. Clay liners cannot be guaranteed. Thick rubber liners can be guaranteed.

That’s my fear. I’ve been told rubber liners are terribly expensive. I haven’t been able to get a ballpark figure on clay yet. There’s a local supplier that sells bentonite around $12 a bag but that would get real expensive too. I’m fairly frustrated with this 2acre mess.

If the site is conducive to running hogs, and you are both patient and willing to tolerate the odor, you may be able to rent out the site while adding manure and compaction. Cattle could be a less offensive alternative, or even sheep. A fence would be required though. The manure method has been used successfully on porous soils, but investing a lot of money with a lot of risk seems unwise. Maybe local extension folks from your land-grant university can help. Might even fit into a research project.

Are you referring to county extension agency?

I think so

https://www.agcareers.com/career-profiles/extension-agent.cfm

Welcome to the forum, Mudduck, we're glad you found us. Sorry to hear about your leak issues.

I own 7 ponds and each one has leaked to some degree or another, so I became unwillingly experienced with sealing ponds. Feel free to reach out anytime and I'm happy to help provide some direction based on my experiences.

TJ

tj@hudlandmgmt.com

Mudduck. Take the time and talk to teehjaeh. he was very helpful with my pond leak. I had standing water on the back side of my dam. the pond builder left me some large trees to push up and burn in that area. but as the pond started filling that area wouldn't dry out, so i couldn't get a tractor in there. after sealing my pond all standing water was gone within a few days and within 2-3 weeks it was completely dry so i could get equipment in there to clean up the debris. the place is still dry. i actually plant food plots there now. even though that area dried out, i did continue to lose some water. we were in a very tough dry spell here so i can't say for sure how much was a leak and how much was evap.

i had best results with the fine ground sealant. the course grind didnt seem to work as well. i think i may have been one of the first to use the course grind. they may have tweaked the application since i used it in 2015.