Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions leaking pond

I could not find the name of the guy in San Marcos..Can someone help me out here..Also...I checked into the bentonite...found a guy in Flatonia Tx that carries Calcium Bentonite that has been treated with Sodium..they sell it as pond seal..he says it wont hurt the fish and will seal a pond..Anyone have any experience with that? thanks again..

Jeff,

It is Johnson Lake Management Service. 512-396-1231. 310 Deerwood Dr. San Marcos.

Thanks Rick..and thanks again for your advice..I am going to pick up a sample of the bentonite in Flatonia and compare it to the Texas sodium bentonite before I proceed..

In a change of plans I have talked to a reputable dozer operator.I will obtain some clay from the back of my place and line the entire pond much cheaper than using bentonite..questions are: He will be using a dirt buggy to haul the dirt in..will that compact as good as a sheepsfoot roller?..also I have seen 2 types of sheepsfoot rollers..one you pull behind a tractor and the other is motorized..any difference in compaction capabilities?...One last question is that I will be cleaning the silted/washed in areas out...should I compact the bottom before I start adding the clay?? thanks for your input..

Hi Jeff,

Glad to hear you found suitable clay to line the pond with. Hauling it should be cheaper than buying bentonite.

A dirt buggy will not compact as well as a sheepsfoot roller, but it will do an acceptable job of compaction when properly used. It should be fully loaded with dirt and used to run over the entire area several times. The idea is to apply and compact the clay in 6" lifts, either two or three, depending on the planned thickness of the finished liner.

In my opinion, there would be no difference in compaction capabilities of a motorized sheepsfoot roller and a tow behind sheepsfoot roller.

I would recommend that after the silt is removed, you plow or otherwise scarify the area to be lined to a depth of about 4". Then mix the first layer (lift) of clay with this 4" layer before you begin compaction. This should help insure a good bond between dissimiliar soil materials. No further mixing will be necessary for the additional lifts. However, if the previous lift has crusted over, it should be lightly plowed or scarified before applying the next lift.

I hope this helps.

Rick

Thanks for the reply...I will send samples off of the clay to test it..I am considering getting a civil engineer to assess this whole situation...before I jump in again...every thing I have read really stresses compation, compaction and compaction...yet I never hear any dozer operaters talk about it..the soil also has to have the right moisture content when you compact..they dont say anything about that either..

Just to follow up...pond project is finished..hauled in clay material from back of my place and lined the pond with at least a foot of clay..packed with dirt buggy...2 inch rain brought a foot of water in bottom and holding good...wanted to add another foot to the bottom but rain came and too late..

Jeff

Let us know if you get any more rain and how the pond is holding.

OTTO

Pond update..Have been filling pond since end of April..up to 7.5
feet..cut water off yesterday from well...tank about 2.5-3.0 feet
from full pool...water went down 3/4 inch in 24 hours...not quite sure if that is evaporative loss or some seepage..anyhow it is better than it was...pond will be 1.25 acres full..any comments on this rate of water loss??

3/4 inch in 24 hours sounds a little high for evaporation but who knows. I gave up on trying to figure out what the 'real' evaporation rate should be day by day.

You could try a method that I recently started using to help nail down the water loss as evaporation or seepage. If your lucky like me and have another pond near by, you could do a comparison. My neighbor is nice enough to let me monitor his water loss at no charge Our ponds a pretty close to the same size and his seems to hold water like a sink. Kinda like the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Just an idea....

New pond saturation has been discussed here a number of times before. I know, cuz I freaked a little during our fillup. It is a fact and normal occurrence. The recommended medicine is watch and wait. Keep track of the fluctuation. If you are real nervous, there is the pan evaporation experiment.

It is not out of line for the water to go down on the first filling. All the dry dirt around the pond needs to be saturated, once that is finished then start to keep a close eye on the water loss.

otto

Just to update..I left well off for another day due to hurricane in my area...there was 0.4 inch rain in pond, yet the pond dropped approx. that much as well...I will watch and wait..turned pump back on...thanks for everyone's input..

Brettski,

Can you elaborate a little on the pan evaporation experiment you're referring to? Can it be done without a 'real' evaporation pan? I once checked into buying one and it seems like they were a little on the expensive side.

Being able to get a good handle on what the real evaporation rate is for a given area may be handy since the daily evaporation rates would vary.

Anyone know what pan evaporation experiment Brettski is referring to?

Put a leak-proof container full of water next to the pond, compare evaporation only (pan) to evaporation plus leaks, loss to soil evaporation (pond)?

BTW, don't let the dog drink from the pan.

sorry Cheezy...missed the ?.....thx Theo

thanks guys.

Got any specs or ideas for this leak proof container? I know that a real evaporation pan would be best but a little on the expensive side. How about a 5 gallon bucket or one of my wifes good cooking pans?

Of course I would need to make sure no animals drink from it to skew the results.

Would be really nice to have a good idea what the evaporation rate is because I think my daily loss it real close to the evaporation rate now.

Or wee into it, that could skew the results as well.

On a more serious note, Cheezy, I would think that one of you're wife's cooking pan would work just fine.

Heck I use my wife's cooking utensils for all sorts of stuff. Or at least I use to before I was banned from using them after the unfortunate turkey baster incident.

You want to use a container that will provide similar surface exposure as the test sample (pond). A short sided pan (one that won't block or disturb winds/breezes) would likely be the best option. The real question, and I think Theo raised it in one of his posts, is the color of the interior since different colors promote differing levels of solar gain.
???

How else were you supposed to get DIED's head out of the glacier using only hot coffee?

hahaha...some funny responses. thanks guys. I think I got the idea now.

I'm on my second day in row of .25 inch loss in 24 hours. I think the loss is real close to evaporation.

Update on water level...Since summer over and less evaporative losses the pond has come up..the past week it has come up one inch to 8ft 10"...still a slow increase..We have had no rain here in south central Texas..I am hoping that it is just saturation of the surrounding soils...I am about 1.5 ft from full pool...The real test will be when I shut the pump off..

leaking pond this good,by the way what is the meaning of this,








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Great thing to know about busby seo test.

Place a weighted bucket in the pond with the rim 2" above the surface of the pond level. Fill the bucket to the same level. Measure the difference in levels between the 2 each day.