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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 39
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OP
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 39 |
Folks, Ten years ago I dug a pond in a shallow open valley, closing of the low end with the reddish clay soil creating a dam. I always planned on a well to fill it. Not knowing any better at the time I dug about two feet too far into the first water table and the water rose about 3 feet and stayed right there. I thought this was good. I focused on other things for ten years and just this last fall had a well drilled. ( 40 gpm 290 ft rock well) I filled the pond in a month and a half and then turned the well off. As you all know where this is going, the pond rather quickly returned to that ground water level it was at for ten years. So now I will remove as much water as I can and add 2+ feet of clay from local gravel pit compacting in lifts. There is about two feet of very very soupy clay muck in the bottom that obviously did nothing to stop the flow of water down. Do I have to dig all that clay muck out or could I firm it with gravel and then do my new clay lifts on top of that? Thanks in advance and I know this gets talked about a lot. Jim
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Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,435
Ambassador Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Ambassador Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,435 |
Hi Jim, welcome to pond boss - glad you found us. Someone will be along shortly to get you headed in the right direction.
Just do it...
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,499 Likes: 267
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Posts: 21,499 Likes: 267 |
Welcome to Pond Boss Jim.
It depends on the nature of the muck. Best to clear the possible leak/GW seep area and pack with good clay. The weight/compaction of the clay will have to be greater than the WT pressure or it will do no good. That will be the key. Suggest engineering type help as moving clay/dirt is expensive so it needs to be done right the first time. That would include factoring in the WT info and the nature of the dirt/clay to be used.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,541 Likes: 845
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,541 Likes: 845 |
I think Eric hit the nail on the head. Since clay should have the correct water content to compact well, I think having the soupy muck at the bottom would throw an unknown in the mix.
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 39
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OP
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 39 |
Thanks for the input. Sounds like I should remove all the muck. I just need to figure out how to break it to my wife that I need to spend a few more thousand bucks after I proclaimed that the well would be the last thing for the pond. Thanks again. jim
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,713 Likes: 35
Administrator Lunker
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Administrator Lunker
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,713 Likes: 35 |
May I ask why you didn't just dig deeper into the ground water table and build a ground water type pond without the need for a dam and that expensive well?
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 39
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OP
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 39 |
It is kind of rolling land and I used a lower valley area. Not really any flat areas near. Thanks, jim
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 39
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OP
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 39 |
In hindsight though I do think about what it would have cost to move a lot more dirt around vs. cost of well and now repairs.
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,713 Likes: 35
Administrator Lunker
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Administrator Lunker
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,713 Likes: 35 |
Yeah, hindsight . It haunts me too....
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,541 Likes: 845
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,541 Likes: 845 |
Same here Dwight. If I would have found PB a year earlier it would have saved me a bunch of $$ when I renovated my pond.
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,499 Likes: 267
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Me to as the last dam fix pre-PB was not done right and any fix attempt will be costly.
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 342
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 342 |
Jim - I just finished a pond and nearly made the same mistake. After digging at least 8 feet down into the clay the crew broke through into "sugar sand" and water springs started seeping into the pond. Pond Boss experts highly recommended that it be sealed before any more water got in there. The crew pumped the water out and put 2 tons of Betonite clay into the soil and then put a couple feet of clay over the top. Now we are waiting on the rain to fill the pond.
"Our Life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, Simplify" -Henry David Thoreau -
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277 |
About 10 years ago I cleaned out a pond with a seep spring in the bottom. DUMB!! It was like pulling the plug in a bathtub. Now the small pond rises and falls with the level of the ground water. In my arid area that usually means that it is dry.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 39
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OP
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 39 |
I have the local gravel pit guy lined up to deliver clay next late spring early summer. I have to work on getting a sheepsfoot roller lined up now. Thanks for the input. Dave any plans to try and put the plug back in that pond? jim
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277 |
I've tried several times using both clay and bentonite. Neither has really worked. No big problem. The hogs have found it and the water from a recent rain is a nasty looking green.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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