I have a newly constructed pond with only 4 ft of water in it..when it rains and the ground starts to dry, one section of the dam from water to top of dam stays wet. what would cause this? Is this a leak?

Howdy, BeeSpring. Welcome to the Forum.

Want to see if I understand correctly. It stays wet ABOVE the water line? And it's only wet after a rain, staying wet longer than the rest of the dam?

Yes..stays wet from water line to the top of dam. top of dam is dry..area is about 5 foot wide and 15 feet up side

Your answer to Theo's question leads me to believe the top of your dam is sloped downward toward the wet area & it is caused simply by runoff from the rain event.

Or, the top layer is a good, porous topsoil that retains water...as opposed to the non-porous dam monolith.

It's either running down from something above I can't envision, wicking up from the pond, or LEAKING UPHILL. If the lattermost, sell tickets.

Thats what I was thinking...wicking. But if thats the case will it be a problem? And thanks to all for your input.

Hi Bee,welcome aboard.Hang on and you'll get lots of great advice here.Im not an expert here,but I noticed you said it was a new pond.It may take a while for it to "wick up" and seal,so I wouldnt panic yet.Did you contact the people who built it and ask thier opinion?

If this only occurs after a rain I can only imagine the area that remains wet is in a lower area than the rest of the dam or for some other unknown reason retains moisture longer.
Since it only occurs after a rain I would judge it not a serious problem but I'm not there. I guess it's possible this could be an indication the area needs further compaction?

Welcome BeeSpring
It sounds like the topsoil may be holding the rain water a little longer and letting it seep out a little slower.
Theo and Brett said the same thing.

Get a shovel and dig a little hole to see how far the dirt is wet.
It should only be on the surface.
Keep us posted

Well pond is leaking..Had about 1 inch of rain last night..water level rose good but after work today had dropped to pre rain level..thinking about sodium bentonite

Darn, sorry to hear that BeeSpringKy. Bump for some more feedback.

Can you see the water comming out on the back of the dam or is the water is it seeping into the groung?

Seeping into the ground... back of dam looks pretty good...also would like to thank everyone for their input.. Its so disappointing to get a pond...a life long dream of mine.. and to have this much problems... it helps to have people try to help remedy and give feedback. Thanks Steve

Been there, done that Steve. Spent 5K building a pond and then 20K fixing it. I just wish we could be of MORE help.

BSK

I know where you are coming from...I think I've spotted a leak in one of my brand new ponds as well...very disheartening. I have to wait until Spring to address it. Not happy. I sure hope both of our issues turn out okay...I couldn't agree more with your sentiments - I waited all my life for this and watching water levels drop and seeping from the dam is very difficult.

And you still can't use it as often as you want!!! That sucks the most!

Prosecutor just filed a trespassing charge against me last friday for my vist last July! He knows it can't stick but wants to add to the harassment.

Can't blame me for that! The pvc muskrat kill increased flow INTO your pond!

You know what my solution is.....

Gonna try DB-110 from pond doctors...can't hurt!