Bad experience with new pond - 07/14/15 01:35 PM
I live in NE KS in a location with a hilly bluff. I had a pond constructed two years ago by a local excavator. The dam was located on top of an old dam with a dug well at the bottom of it. He filled the well in and placed the backslope of the dam on top of the old well. The dam was about 50' long and 10' tall, the new one is about 150' long and 25' tall. I remember him telling me that he found some loose rock but he can core fill it and it wouldn't be a problem.
Initially we had trouble with it sealing and he came back out to dig, said he found a pipe that was buried within the old dam. I was questioning how this was there if he core filled it, he said he didn't know. Anyway, we let it go last year and it obviously wasn't holding water. I appear to have leaks throughout the dam, all over on the back side. Continuous streams, probably 5-10 GPM or more.
He came back out early this year and said he found some more rock under the old dam, but put all the rocky soil back in the hole and went home. He said he thought it was fixed but it still leaks rapidly. He is no longer taking my phone calls.
Since that time I've had two local contractors come out and look at it. Both told me it was a poor site for a pond, that down the hill would be better due to the rock shelf there. The first told me he didn't want to fix it, the second told me he would but the dam needed reconstructed in a different location because of poor installation practices. He said that it likely wasn't keyed in, and showed me some shale that the installer had hit when he put it in.
He recommended moving it down the hill to the other location mentioned by the other contractor, but we wouldn't be able to see it from the house. He said he could use some clay from another part of the property and put in a clay liner over the whole thing, and also move the dam to a new location about 50' back and reconstruct it, using the material in the current dam only for the spoil on the back side.
Initial construction cost was $14,000, this will be closer to $30k. I need to get my head wrapped around this.
I know I have quality problems with my existing dam. The top has settled so badly that if it did fill up the middle of the dam might be below the spillway. I'm just hesitant to throw good money after bad here. I really like the location by the house, but have been told twice now that the other location is better. I take that to mean cheaper. I have about 50 acres flowing into the 1.5 acre pond.
Any thoughts or ideas here?
Initially we had trouble with it sealing and he came back out to dig, said he found a pipe that was buried within the old dam. I was questioning how this was there if he core filled it, he said he didn't know. Anyway, we let it go last year and it obviously wasn't holding water. I appear to have leaks throughout the dam, all over on the back side. Continuous streams, probably 5-10 GPM or more.
He came back out early this year and said he found some more rock under the old dam, but put all the rocky soil back in the hole and went home. He said he thought it was fixed but it still leaks rapidly. He is no longer taking my phone calls.
Since that time I've had two local contractors come out and look at it. Both told me it was a poor site for a pond, that down the hill would be better due to the rock shelf there. The first told me he didn't want to fix it, the second told me he would but the dam needed reconstructed in a different location because of poor installation practices. He said that it likely wasn't keyed in, and showed me some shale that the installer had hit when he put it in.
He recommended moving it down the hill to the other location mentioned by the other contractor, but we wouldn't be able to see it from the house. He said he could use some clay from another part of the property and put in a clay liner over the whole thing, and also move the dam to a new location about 50' back and reconstruct it, using the material in the current dam only for the spoil on the back side.
Initial construction cost was $14,000, this will be closer to $30k. I need to get my head wrapped around this.
I know I have quality problems with my existing dam. The top has settled so badly that if it did fill up the middle of the dam might be below the spillway. I'm just hesitant to throw good money after bad here. I really like the location by the house, but have been told twice now that the other location is better. I take that to mean cheaper. I have about 50 acres flowing into the 1.5 acre pond.
Any thoughts or ideas here?