Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Central Illinois - New pond w/Pics!

If you take the second picture in this last group, the ground rises fairly well and has always been dry, other than next to pond. It originally was wet there just about where It is 6-8 ft damp. The opposite side has a similar slope but there is section that extends back 20 plus feet and the ground is all wet, so I'd say the water table there is high or it has a place where ground water is flowing.

I hope that all make sense. I'll take a picture of that side and post it.

If the pond had a good clay lining, then the water shouldn't migrate thru it. It looks like capillary action in soil. I see that in my pond, but it's a groundwater pond dug in sand.

Bossone
I Would think Berttski has the right Idea. Dig some holes all around the pond close to the water, in the wet spots and also where the dirt is dry. That will give us more information to process.
The pond continuing to fill from ground water could, as Bill Cody says, cause some concern if and when the weather gets good and dry. That question will only be answered with some time maybe later this summer.
Let us know what you find out from the holes you dig.

Dug the holes on the north side (which is the wettest) about 2 ft deep. Soil was moist and after an hour water was already seeping in. This hole was 35 ft away and then dug 2 others, one stayed moist and the other one was wet but hadn't filled up.

Overflow is running so ground water has to be feeding it.

South side is dry and normal moisture.

I contacted the guy who dug my pond and here is his response to the pictures.

Pond is looking good. It is possible the water table is that high, a large number of ponds we do wick up the bank. There is no concern on my part for the pond drying out.

He is going to come out and look later in May. Thoughts from the dirt guys?

Additional information.......

the area where I dug the holes, I also planed some fruit trees. At 3 inches of rain the whole area has water standing. Two of the trees will need to be moved. The ground water in that area is very high and flowing into the pond.

Also in another area on the north side of the pond. 15 ft away from the pond and higher than the pond water level, water is running out of the ground.

Water moving into your dug holes could be water from the pond and/or from just 'regular' ground water moving toward the pond. ONLY time during dry summer weather will provide a good answer to your water movement concerns.

I get nervous and doubtful when some one says about the dam or the walls of a dug pond - ""They never used a packer, just the dozer and hihoe. From an untrained point of view it certainly looks to be solid.""

Looking solid is a whole lot different that being solid and the lifts being compacted together enough to hold water well throughout the basin. Water can even seep between loosely compacted lifts especially if sandy, porous soils were in the lifts. Loose soils leak, even packed soils will leak some. The degree of leakage depends on a lot of things. Soil science is complex that is why there are specialists in the field. Water moves due to a force - pressure or gravity. As I see it, small leaks provide a pathway for moving water. Moving water has energy and that moving water energy tends to incease the size of the leak over time unless something fills the void and slows the leak. Sometimes one gets lucky and a small seepage/s gets filled with clay particles and seals; most often not, due to the moving water, loose soil feature. IMO there is not a lot that can be easily and cheaply done once a pond is leaking esp a larger pond. One has to live with the leaks. It is hard to 'divorce a pond'.

I'm confident that it is ground water and is flowing towards the pond. The key will be when it dries up.

I found it interesting when he said all their pond wick. I hope it finall stops.

Well the adventure continues as today was the day we stocked the pond with 100 BG, 250 HBG, and 25 LMB!



And thanks goes to these find gentlemen who don't need any introduction to most of you, but this is Nate (n8ly) and Justin Herman.



They were super helpful and even was kind enough to bring me bill to boot. Seriously I appreciate not only them, but everyone here who has answered all of my dumb questions. Trust me, there will be more to come.

Again, thanks Nate and Justin for your help and look forward to working more with you in the future!

I thought I'd update this thread since Google Maps has an update satellite image, so now I can show you what all we have done.

This is the old image and shows you what I started with:



This is the updates image:



If you read back into this thread you will see I had concerns with possible leakage and a high ground water table. After the spring rains, we were at full pool and the groundwater kept the overflow running. As the summer passed, we had very little rain, so I expected it would drop some. That some turned into about a 5ft drop and I noticed on the far side of the dam, water trickling through the ditch. That leads me to think we have an issue and I'm not sure what to do. Certainly some seepage would be acceptable, but losing 5 ft of water makes me real nervous.

In the this picture I tried to outline some of the areas I have talked about and give everyone a good idea as to what I'm facing.



All this has lead me to a ton of questions I'll put in other areas of the forums, but if anyone has advise, I'm open to it. I decided not to stock any additional fish until I see if we can manage this water lost and if the fish I have survive the winter.

Beautiful Boss! Nice job!

If it's a groundwater pond, and it doesn't have a good compacted clay liner, then I'd say the water level drop was normal for last year.