Im still thinking on buying this house in Ohio. It has a 1/2 acre pond with a leak. Can a pond always be fixed? I know were the leak is but have some questions for someone that knows about fixing them. I would like to call and talk to someone about it. If you can email me your phone number. sconner@woh.rr.com

thanks
Steve

Steve, those are some hard questions to answer. For the most part, I would say that 97.98577772% of the time and pond can be fixed depending on how much money you want to spend.

I would do all that I could to understand the exact function and nature of the leak. However, I feel to do so would require draining the pond.

A high % of repair techniques would involve draining the pond as well.

What do you think is the nature of the leak? Bad spillpipe, leaking through the dam, leaking under the dam, porous soil in the basin, ???

I was told a sand vien. I think Im going to have another guy come in and just redo it. How much do you think it will coast? The water is pumped out already. Here is what it looks like. Sorry no better pics. [img][/img]

Cost would vary greatly with the method used. I am not qualified to give an estimate, but if you have good clay on site that can be moved a short distance and packed (1' minimum, 2' better) over the vein of sand, that would be the least expensive and could be figured as a # of yards of material moved so far and then compacted.

More exotic methods like ESS13 (I always get that alphanumeric combo wrong ) or a liner would be notably higher.

P.S. Nice deck. Hot tub and towel rack?

How much would you think? He said the leak is about were the bricks are.

Like Theo says, you need some good clay to pack over the leak, and you really want 2' of clay.

If you had the clay on-site, a total SWAG would be $5K give or take, but please realize I have no authority to guess on pricing.

How much runoff area does that pond have, it looks like it's on top of a hill.

Its about 1-2 feet higher than the fields. There is a drain in the back.

Very observant Eastland! How did I miss that?

zoeconner, how does it fill?

Just by rain water. They had hoses from the house gutters run to the pond.

Steve,

Having bought and sold a property with a leaking pond (which I eventually drained and filled in), I would sure get some solid advice from a local excavator before putting a contract on this place. If you are buying, you are in a great position right now because of the huge downturn in real estate.

The photos make it look like the pond has held water for a substantial period because of the vegetation line. But, as Sunil and Theo have said, you will need a lot of clay to seal it.

Unless you must move soon, I'd look at other properties. In my area (northern West Virginia, Western Maryland, and Northern Virginia), there are a lot of great pond properties and sites. In my opinion, this holds for most of the north eastern third of the country right now.

Don't commit without lots of good advice. Keep us informed.

Ken

When I built my pond about 3 years ago I took core samples with a well driller, the soil was not suited for a pond. The pond builder said we can fix that by hauling in clay and he lined it very well and it has been a very good pond. It is expensive but I wanted a pond. I have house gutters running to the pond and I have not added much water for the last two years. A small pond can be repaired.

Hey Zoe"
Where in Ohio is thi?

I was just wondering I am in Ohio and the water level fluctuates a great deal around here and you will need for water to be able to get in the pond. Rain flow will help but I am not sure if that will be good enough. Probably will be, but I would like my pond to be below the water line of the surrounding properties. If you do excavate I would consider that to be changed?

Where is it located?

The county's soil and water department may already know about it and offer some more background. They can also give you runoff figures, soil type, surrounding soil types, etc...should be free too.

Brian, has the EPA breached your dam for blocking that stream yet?

Its in Lima. I had someone who really knows his stuff when it comes to ponds come look at it. He said he never seen a pond that couldnt be fixed. He is only going to charge $2,500. Thats awsome news! I had one guy say $5,000 and another $13,00. He is going to change the beach area because thats where its leaking. Does someone have a layout of a beach that I can have him do. I will have a lot of little kids swimming. In the picture the beach is in front of the picnic table.

thanks

Well I got the house. Cheeper than what we ask for. Can someone tell me how I should make a beach? Right now the beach will be filled in since this is where the leak is. Im just looking for examples of slopes. It will be atleast 1-2 months before it gets fixed. Cant wait!

There are some good beach threads here somewhere, but here are some general pointers (IIRC):
1. You want some kind of edge at the end of the sand in the pond to keep it from wandering off - like a row of cement blocks.
2. Landscape cloth under the sand is usually thought of well as it helps keep plants from growing on the beach.
3. Shallow is good for the beach, both above and below the water. People loath walking out on a 3:1 slope. Maybe 5:1 for a beach?

Wow, Lima, Ohio. Haven't been there in maybe 3 years, but I used to get out there couple times a year. Buddy's dad still lives there...nice town.

Good luck with the pond. It'll be a fantastic addition to your family!

Hi Ryan:
Not yet, I think they may have come to the realization that I do not have a creek. All the paper work from the county explains it is a ditch line. I think they may leave me alone. I have heard nothing in a year? I am hoping they are satisfied.

zoeconnor
I've got 3 "beach related" links built into this anthology thread. Read down to the beach and geotextile links.
chasing a dream stuff

Thanks

Heres something else I just found out. I have an artesian well about 20 feet from the pond. Its a green pipe in the ground sticking out about a foot. What is it? Good or Bad to have?

Heres a link of a virtual tour of the house. Look for the picture backyard and youll see the pipe. About 50 feet to the left of that is the pond. But they dont show it because it just a hole in the ground now.
http://tours.justsnooping.com/2423338/

Artesian well is like having a gold mine. Generally they flow huge amounts of water. Looking at the size of your pond I would think a liner would be a good option.. Especially if the good clay is not found locally to the site.

Im going to redo the pond not put in a liner. Can I use that well to fill the Pond? If so How would I do that?

You would have to add a well pump, electric, solar, or wind etc. You would need to find out what the well flow rate is. If it is an Artesian well, it should be more than adequate.

Here are some better pics of the pond that needs fixed. If anyone can give me any advice on what to tell the contractor on what to do would be great. Is there anything that you see that isnt right? The beach area is were the leak is so he wants to fill it in. "I STILL WANT A BEACH AREA" I just want him to do it right. Also the extra clay by the dock will be moved and take some clay off the sides because he said its not steep enough. The brick pile is ther because they were going to fill it in with junk. I might see if he can use some for structure. What do you think.

Thanks
Steve

Is it possible it's not so much a leak but the fact that the watershed is insufficient to keep it from evaporating? Or a combination of both? I honestly don't see how that pond would stay full being 2 feet above the rest of the watershed.

In my area if the sand vein is quite small it would be much less than $5,000.00 to pack in some clay over the vein. I only paid $300.00 to have my 1/2 acre pond dipped a few years ago!

If it's a true free flowing artesian well there would be no need for a pump or anything. If it truly is a free flowing artesian well it may be just capped at the present time. If that is the case it's just a matter of connected some pipe to it with a shut off if need be, and running it to the pond. Also artesian wells come in all kinds of flow rates and some are not much more than a trickle. Many are not permanent either. Sometimes as surrounding land owners use more and more water with increasing development even good flowing artesian wells dissipate due to a decrease in the amount of water in the aquifer and a subsiquent decrease in pressure in the confinement.

Keep in mind the word artesian is sometimes misunderstood and used incorrectly. Artesian usually refers to a confined layer which is putting pressure on a water aquifer. It depends on how much pressure whether you have a free flowing artesian well, if drilling pops into this confined layer. My wells are my property are considered artesian, but although there is enough pressure to bring up the static water level much higher than the aquifer, there is not enough pressure to cause them to free flow.

Back to your sand vein; If your sand vein truly is a small area under the beach, I wouldn't even consider a liner. Much more expensive and they have their downsides. A good thick layer of clay should take care of the problem.

My 3/4 acre first pond was according to my contractor and Conservation agent a big risk as I had the most beautiful sandbox sand and gravel and stone at the 15 foot level where we proposed to put in the pond. But I wanted a pond badly and the contractor said he would not dig deeper than a certain depth and make sure we had at least three feet of packed clay on the bottom. You know what? This pond is been the most leak proof pond I have with non problems whatsoever.

Thanks for replying. What do you meen by the watershed? Also the well must be a low pressure. I will have to put a pump in it to pump water out to the pond.

Well I talked to the first guy who did the pond. He was negitive from the start. He said this pond is junk and it's going to take about $20,000 to fix it. I just about sh@@ myself because I close on the house in a couple of days. Is there anyone here ever had a leak and got it fixed ok. Right now I need to hear some good stories to make me feel better. This guy has only done 8 ponds before. The other guy i'm going to have do has about 30 years. What % do you think I have on fixing it with someone that know what there doing.

Thanks
I have to go throw up now

Well, if it's junk, and he did it in the first place, that doesn't say much about him.

When I bought our place the local soil and water guy told me I should fill mine in, that it would never hold more than a couple of feet of water, he was wrong.
Wait for the second opinion.

As far as percentages, I defer to those more knowledgeable than I.

sullpond
What did it take to fix it?

zoeconner, where are you located in Ohio and who did the original dig, feel free to PM me as we have some experience with Ohio soils and pond builders (not to be confused with hole diggers)