Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,902
Posts557,119
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,420
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,112
Who's Online Now
4 members (Fishingadventure, RogersTailgate, jpsdad, anthropic), 843 guests, and 171 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 3
J
jonereb Offline OP
OP Offline
J
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 3
My pond (about 30 X 30 ft.) was dug with a backhoe 20 years ago. The levee side (about 5 or 6 ft. high by 30 ft. long) is clay soil and was packed down by the backhoe. Over the years critters have dug into the levee wall from inside the pond, plus I've had some over-spill erosion.

I believe my current leak is actually seepage from critter burrowing. In the past I've managed to plug a few holes that I can see when the water is low in late summer. I'll do the same this year, probably in late July or August.

I'd also like to enhance the levee with a retaining wall to control burrowing. What would you suggest? Rip Rap? Concrete blocks? Something else. Aesthetics is somewhat secondary to cost.

Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
R
RAH Offline
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
Burying chainlink fence works great for muskrats.

Joined: May 2017
Posts: 3
J
jonereb Offline OP
OP Offline
J
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 3
I suspect turtles. I have huge turtles in my pond. Do they dig into levees?

Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
R
RAH Offline
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
Never heard of that.

Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,099
Likes: 22
R
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame
Lunker
R
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,099
Likes: 22
Muskrats are the usual suspects found burrowing. Remove Cattails that are a favorite habitat, and you can bury chain link, or 2x4 wire hardware cloth at the normal high water line to about 3 feet deep along the dam and shorelines as RAH mentioned above....turtles won't be the problem.



Joined: May 2017
Posts: 3
J
jonereb Offline OP
OP Offline
J
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 3
But I have never seen a muskrat on my property. Plenty of bullfrogs and turtles. My pond has nothing growing around it -- no cat tails, trees, brush, etc. It's like something you'd see on a golf course, built on a slight incline with a levee on the down side.

The holes I mention are more link indentions in the interior side of the levee. Could be normal erosion, I guess. Regardless, water is seeping and parts of the levee are very damp and pliable.

I'll probably need to bolster the levee with a wall of some kind and back-fill with clay soil and bentonite to make the levee wider. Any recommendations on the wall? Concrete block, railroad ties, something else? Again cost is more important than aesthetics.

Last edited by jonereb; 05/13/17 07:43 AM.
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
R
RAH Offline
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
If you do not re-core the levee, you may be wasting your time. You could re-core behind the existing levee, if that is easier for you. The clay needs to be "dovetailed" into the existing clay below the surface.



This is our first self-built body of water. It is a wetland made to take runoff for a future barn, but currently has less watershed than the water surface area. The berm was stripped down to clay and a backhoe was used to excavate and repack a core in the same pass. Then clay was added in 6" lifts with each lift being compacted with a sheep's foot roller. Based on what we have seen, it holds water like a tub. I estimate the maximum depth at under 4 feet. Watershed is its only source of water.

Last edited by RAH; 05/13/17 09:25 AM.
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,792
Likes: 68
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,792
Likes: 68
Perfect scenario for Soilfloc - cost a fraction of the cost of excavation/engineering. Feel free to ping me happy to help.


Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

[Linked Image from i1261.photobucket.com]



Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
cro, HC1968
Recent Posts
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by RogersTailgate - 03/29/24 05:45 AM
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by jpsdad - 03/29/24 05:43 AM
pond experience needed
by esshup - 03/29/24 12:45 AM
New pond middle TN: establishing food chain?
by Bill Cody - 03/28/24 07:57 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by FireIsHot - 03/28/24 07:33 PM
Working on a .5acre disaster, I mean pond.
by PRCS - 03/28/24 06:39 PM
Fungus infection on fish
by nvcdl - 03/28/24 06:07 PM
Can anyone ID these minnows?
by Dylanfrely - 03/28/24 05:43 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 04:48 PM
Yellow Perch Spawn 2024
by H20fwler - 03/28/24 04:29 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by LANGSTER - 03/28/24 03:49 PM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5