Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations DAM LEAK

I have a major leak. I can see seeping. This is a deep lake. I need to fix this somehow. I saw an ad for ess-13. Any suggestions.

You need a quick education so you can make the best decision.
All leaks are related to soil issues. All of them.
Some soils are porous, some are less porous. Clay compacts best. It leaks least.
Since you can see water seeping on the backside, you can assume your water is seeking a path probably somewhere above natural ground level.
The most obvious question I see first is to ask if your dam was cored into the ground, or pushed up on top of natural ground? If topsoil wasn't removed and a trench dug down into heavy clay soils to build a foundation on which to build your dam, that is your problem.
If a core trench was dug and clay compacted as the dam was built, you will have seepage which won't stop.
If the dam was properly built and you have seepage from the dam, your builder used porous soils.
Once you identify the "problem" you can look at potential solutions. ESS-13 is a great choice for marginal soils which can't be (or haven't been) properly compacted.
You have other choices, too.
My immediate recommendation is to buy our book called "Perfect Pond, Want One?" It is loaded with information you need to seek out the answer to your problem. There's one chapter devoted entirely to leaky ponds. While it may not totally help to solve the problem, this book will absolutely help you to home in on the problem you have.
It costs $20 plus shipping. Either order online from our website or call the office tomorrow and have it sent straight away.
Leaky ponds are one of the biggest issues we deal with on a regular basis.

badaxe, you've come to the best place to solve any lake/pond related problems & received advise on your first post from the top Pondboss. I would add to Bob's advise only that you get the mag. also. It & this website will give you the knowledge & ideas to make your lake the best it can be.
I assume your lake is fairly new? How deep is it? Give us pic's & some more info.
Welcome aboard!

I have a leak in my dam as well but I have decided to live with it. It isn't a huge leak but it is enough to keep an area below the pond wet all the time. How bad is your leak?

I have one too on my damn and i also live with it.

Badaxe,welcome to the forum,we're glad you found us.We're not really happy about why you found us,but you'll get the best advice from the BEST pond people in the world here.ALL the experts here are just that,and they are a great and friendly bunch of people too.Be patient and you'll get more good ideas.As was mentioned,more info and pics will help in solvving your problem.

All the dams in this region seem to leak. They put toe drains in the professionally designed ones. Apparently we don't have the right type of soil for perfect water holding ability. I think the major problem is if you have a little watershed and it loses depth because of it.

Thanks to everyone for the responses. I do not want to live with this leak if I can repair without spending mega dollars.
This lake is approx 20 years old and it is deep. It was beautiful in May but down over 10 feet now. The water on the backside of damn looks like a underground stream on one side. I have not had this property very long. There are no pipes just a spillway. A very dry one. I have not purchased Perfect Pond yet so I could be missing some important info. I saw an advertisment for ESS-13. Looked like a possible quick fix.

badaxe, are there trees on your dam? I recently priced the ESS-13 and researched it extensively. If your leak is this big, wait till the level slows to expose the water side of the leak before wasting money on a guess. Chances are you will be able to see the source of the damage and can probably use bentonite or a track hoe to do the repairs much more effectively and for less money. ESS-13 is a good (and expensive) product for improving poor soils to seal relatively minor SEEPAGE not larger LEAKS.

Hello Badaxe and welcome to Pond Boss. You were very fortunate to have THE Pond Boss be your very first response. As was previously stated this site gives you access to some of the best pond consultants in the nation.

If it were me I'd buy "Perfect Pond" and read that and read any other material I could about leaky ponds. Then I'd hire a consultant. Make sure the consultant knows his (or her stuff) about fixing ponds. For what it's worth if it were my dollars I'd hire Otto.

Badaxe, Contact your local NRCS agent. The consulting sevices are free and the people are usually very good.

Badaxe, any update on plans or finding the source of the leak?

I am new to this forum. This is my first post
We have inherited land with ponds in the Tuscaloosa area.
The soils are pretty sandy.
One of the ponds (about 10 acres), has a slow leak and has gone down about 7-10 feet over the last couple of years.
There is nothing visable externally on the other side of the dam as far any wet areas that we can find.
there is a pipe type overflow in the lake that is very old. The water level is about 7 feet below the top of the pipe, but is still seeping out somewhere.
How do I find the leak?
I also was curious about the Ess-13 product. My concern is that our pond has a large population of fish.
Could someone advise me on what to do first?
Thanks

Freefall:
You found the right place, these guys on this forum are experts in pond/lake mgmt.,and will help you figure it out. They also have a podcast which explains the history of how this came about, and a magazine that is really cool. Welcome, somebody will see your post and start asking more questions and giving great answers.

Welcome FreeFall!

Does your pipe go straight through the dam at the top or does it have what is often called a "riser system"? A riser has an exit pipe that goes through the bottom of the dam and then a pipe that rises up from the water.

Is there any water coming out of the pipe? Are you still in a drought?

If it is in fact a slow seepage, finding the leak will be very helpful in reducing repair costs.

My research on ESS-13 is that it is well suited for a seepage problem. Downside is for ten acres you're talking pretty big bucks.

Like I told Badaxe that started this thread, one of the very best resources is your local NRCS agent.

Hiya Freefall and welcome to Pond Boss. We're glad you found us. I'll leave the dam questions to the dam experts.

Thanks for the replies.
The pipe goes to the bottom of the lake and then across through the dam.
No we are not currently in a drought.
I read that you could pour wet sawdust around the standpipe and it would find the leak and seal it. Sounds simple and worth a try.
Also read about Bentonite granules.
Since we cannot find anything wet on the other side of the dam we are going to look at the pipes in the lake first.
The lake is about 30 years old with metal pipes.
We were told that a tree was growing on the dam and was blown down in a wind storm about the time the water loss began. Cannot find any evidence of that.

Do you know how the Bentonite granules work?
Thanks,
Mel

I don't think it would be unusual to find a metal pipe had failed after 30 years.

I was waiting for a response to rainmans question: "Is there any water comming out of the pipe?"
If so then the pipe is leaking at or below water level.