I just bought a small farm, and I dug a pond in the best place possible. All of my water drains to this corner of my property, the pond is small probbaly about a 40' circle and about 6' deep. It will fill up with one good rain. It is located in central Texas and it is a very rocky bottom but I picked up all of the big rocks and I've put in 300lbs of bentonite. And it leaks slower but it will still run out. I really wanted to have a small pond for a few fish and also for my goats. Any ideas of a possible inexpensive fix?
I think it needs to be lined. Clay or a synthetic liners seem to be the options.
The best bet is to drain it; add about 2 ft of good clay and pack with a sheepsfoot roller.
When you add the 2 ft of clay, add it and pack it with a sheepsfoot in layers - preferably each around 6" thick.
Thanks guys for the quick response. How far up the bank? And is sodium bentonite not all it's talked up to be? Has anyone ever made a liner out of plastic sheeting? I know it's not the toughest but maybe huh? Not sure where to get a load of clay. I'll try and take some pictures tomorrow. I want to show y'all what we're working with. Thanks.
Bentonite has been used for years and is supposed to be tilled into the soil. I've tried it a couple of times but probably didn't do it right.
Is anyone familiar with Polymer Innovations? I just had an acre size pond dug in Central Kentucky that filled initally but continually runs out under the dam. It is almost completely empty now. We tried a bucket of plug and seal from Polymer but its just laying on a dry bank now. I noticed no slowing of the leak whatsoever. Its an expensive product and dont want to try again with no results.
Welcome to PBF!,
IMO something is not right with the basic construction of the dam. Did the pond builder dig and properly compact a core trench when constructing the dam? I don't think any polymer will cure the problem you describe. Hopefully, one of the pros can offer up some advice.
Bill D.
Welcome to Pond Boss!
I hope you can resolve the problem, but it certainly sounds like what Bill is suggesting: The pond was not constructed properly. All ponds leak, but to leak completely empty suggests many scenarios that should have been a red flag early in the construction process:
1. Soils do not have enough clay to seal the pond, so water simply percolates away. To fix requires lining the pond in one form or another of clay or other suitable material.
2. If the soils have good clay, the core trench was not dug below the topsoil into impervious material below within the dam. Without this, water will simply percolate rather quickly through the topsoil under the dam. A few options here: lining the pond as in #1 will work, or re-digging the core trench and packing the clay soils with a sheep's-foot roller in lifts to make an impenetrable blockade that water cannot flow through.
3. You may have hit a sand, rock, or gravel seam you need to locate, excavate, and back-fill with impervious materials.
Good luck! All I can do is offer my sympathies as fixing a leaky pond. It is a great source of stress for many of us here on PB. That is also why many of us found this site. You are in good company!