Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Has anyone used ESS-13 for pond leaks.

I have a leaking pond. it is a small pond and a slow leak and i fill it every week with a well. I believe the pond builder ignored a rule on construction (or did not know the rule) of the 3 by 1 slope as i believe mine is that or greater than that. The pond is about 80 feet in diameter and is about 16 feet deep in the left side and about 8 feet through most of the rest.

How does one fix this? As i understand these guys usually try to compact small ponds with a dozer which eh did but with that slope and being so deep i feel there was not enough weight to compact the soil properly. We did bring in clay and of course he used the dozer again to compact the soil.

Just curious if anyone has ever used this product or had this type of problem and how they fixed it.

thanx bob

Dozers don't do much good as soil compactors. You're right, not enough weight where it counts.

Call Mike Otto, he'll know how it works; (or doesn't).

PS: I am guessing that if it worked well w/minimum hassle, the inventor would be carved on Mt. Rushmore.

thanks guys

i felt the dozer going up a steep slope would not have the weight required to compact the soil (clay).

Even on a flat surface!

Sniper how can i get ahold of Otto?

Has anyone repaired something like this and how?

Mike Otto is listed in the resources section of the home page.
Ottos Dirt Service

If Mike Otto hasn't done it, it probably has nothing to do with pond building/repairing. You will enjoy talking and working with him. He's a real gentleman.

Please let us know how this goes.

After studying this situation i might have another option. There is a creek behind my pond about 100 feet away. I could maybe put a 110 circuit pump and connect a hose to the creek and drain it into pond with a switch i already have on my porch maybe?

the ESS-13 stuff they seem to want about 4k for 4 barrels of it. Interestingly they will guarantee it after you about 1 thousand for another 4 barrels should the first batch not work. Thats pretty hefty pricing but nice on the guarantee.

Ya know, there's just not a lot cheap about ponding. And then, there are leaks.

How big is the pond and how bad is the leak?

the pond is is about 80 feet in diameter but is very deep for its size.

The leak is about an inch a day. I run my well 1 1/2 days to keep it full each week - it is about 1 acre foot large in volume. The well has a 1 1/2 HP pump about 230 feet deep.

i believe when it was built the dozer was not heavy enough because of the steepness of the slope when he tried to compact the soil as i have read it is usually 3 feet out for 1 foot deep and mine is more than that. The dozer just did not have the weight as it went up the slope to compact the soil enough - imo - but hey i don't know this stuff and that is why i am asking the experts.

You're not getting an expert here; just a student. You're right about dozers doing a poor job of soil compacting. A sheepsfoot roller is a lot better.

Dave one thing i forgot to mention the pond is surrounded by woods and there is about a 4 foot high burm around the pond and the woods is about 6 to 10 feet away from the water.

Not real sure how to get equipment in to compact the dirt. One end could be reached by a dozer cutting through and that is the only spot a dozer could get into the pond because of the steepness.

Because of this - that is the reason i was interested in the ESS-13 stuff.

Bob, it's been tried and somewhere we have a long thread about it. At least I think it was ESS 13. Anybody?

Yeah, mine is also a heckuva mess to get to with the exception of a couple of areas.

Right on, Dave.

Swimming pools are expensivo to maintain. Think of your pond as a really large swimming pool.

OK here is the thread

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=162891&page=39

This was perhaps one of the most informative things on pond leaks i have read. Very good for anyone with a pond leak.

most were trying the DB100 DB150 and DB 200 product. I saw no one with any results post on ES-113.

In addition i saw nothing about pond liners and their success or failure or where to go for installation or purchase. I am going to call Otto soon for his input.

Any thought on running a 100 feet of hose or so from a creek on the back of my property? Man some of those folks in the thread are really good at working pumps etc. - forgot to add i am 70 yrs old and not as able to do the work i use to.

Yeah, that's pretty old. I'm just a Kid at 68.

The only I found about ES-113 is that it is costly. Try Pondseal. It is a small stone with bentonite clay adherred to it. Supossed to work great. The cost for a 50# bag is approx. $28.00.

OK WATERGIRL HAVE YOU TRIED IT? if so how many bads did it take?

that is right down the road from where i was born in Toledo Ohio.
yuk Ohio. Really what i am trying to find out is there any substance i can use without draining the pond that has good results?

I do not see any water behind my dam which is 2/3 of the circumference of an approx 80 foot diameter pond but is very deep and has steep banks.

it leaks an 1 inch or a little more a day and this Texas dought has not helped and i think it is contributing to the quickness of the leak. I believe this is a seep due to the steepens of the banks or slope on the sides of the pond - do not break the 3 by 1 pond rule is the thing to watch out for.

geez - bags

Bob, I don't recall a magic bullet for leak fixing. Well, maybe doing it right the first time.

So rain dances aren't doing much for you either?

It seems like slit and doing it correctly the first time are the best leak stoppers. The rain has started to fall here. As you probably saw on the news yesterday.

I have had luck repairing a leak in my dam using the blanket method explained in this article.

http://www.aces.edu/dept/fisheries/rec_fishing/documents/constructionKentucky.pdf

You will have to pump your pond down till you do not leak any water, so finding where the water is comming out and watching for it to stop is key. My leak was only about 1/2 way down my dam, there for I did not have to drain the whole pond. When you see it stop leaking pump down another foot. Good luck its a royal pain to do. Took 6 buddys and alot of beer to get all the rocks and debris off the inside of the dam. Then theres getting your tiller on the steep bank, I tied it off to my fourwheeler as I went. Saved it from going in the drink a cpl times. Then used a regular gas tamper with 3inch 4x4's. works best doing the whole dam in 6'x6' sections at a time.

I used it last year and it did not work