Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations possible leak

my pond is gradually filling after a very dry summer and fall. we plugged the pipe in may and got some good rain for a month or so. the pond was coming up an inch or so a day right at first, then the rain stopped.it probably fell 30 inches or so over the next 3 months. i have noticed since the beginning a place or 2 on the back of the dam that is damp. maybe a 20 x 20ft square. the ground is kind of pumping in one area now. for the unfortunate ones that have a leak, what do they look like, is it a great big wet spot with flowing water or just a damp spot like mine. this pond is only going to be 1.75-2 acres when full, but has a large dam due to the contour of the land. the dam is about 500' long and about 120' at the base. the dirt we used wasnt the very best, we had good clay, but would hit places that had a different type soil from time to time. also there are some type of crumbly rock in a few places near the dam. my thought is that if it is leaking it probably is coming thru the rock crevices.
it has been about 7 years since i built my last pond, on average how long does it take new soil to absorb all it is going to and stop wicking water?

Did you dig a core trench? Do you have any photos of the build? I know that some have had very good luck with the new polymer products and that might be your first step.

Yes it has a large core trench. 10ft wide by about 8 ft deep. but we did hit a vein of rock in a few places. I have lots of pics but I don't think I have any of the core.

So you hit a vein of rock in the core trench and didn't mine the rock out? I know I have the luxury of hind sight now but when we hit sand in our core trench I had to bite the bullet for an extra 5k dollars and mine all of the sand out and seal it. Its this kind of stuff that makes many of sleepless nights.

Before I would drain it and redo it I would try the new stuff that finds and repairs leaks. I think its kinda pricy but if it fixes it it will be cheap.

Rubber Liners are very expensive but guarantee a fix. The good thing is you know about where the leak is. I would go with the polymer if it were me. Read this thread.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=30696&Number=394082#Post394082

there is no telling how deep the rock would have been. i was building my house about the same time and we hit rock digging the basement. my pond builder has built over 100 ponds in his life and he said we would be fine. but you know there is always that one time! sure would have been nice to add a bentonite in the core while we were filling it, but like you said, hind sight. my pond wouldnt be a good one for a plastic liner. it is very irregular shaped, lots of humps, rock ledges, stump piles, etc. we designed it for a game fish pond.

i will bore yall with a few pics. sorry i just dont have any of the core

this is a rock wall that we left. you can see the type crumbly rock i am talking about.

do you know what size pond was reapired with this polymer?

Water level looks too low based on structure placements. Your leaker is going to be a headache. I hope you and your contractor can come to a solution that seals that apparent leaky area in the dam. Once you get that fixed there is not guarantee that there will not be some seepage areas in the embankments above the current water line that have not been exposed to water and its low pressure influence.

I think 2 months should be plenty of time for the underwater areas to fully absorb all the water they will/can absorb assuming the water absorption "stops" and does not continue to seep water into surrounding earth.

Wicking above the water line into the free board area (wet bank area) constantly occurs in all ponds as long as there is in the pond. I was told that this is actually an instance where water travels up hill.

Nice setting. Hopefully you will eventually get the pond to stay full. Keep us advised as to your progress long term.

"Water level looks too low based on structure placements" Bill. I sure hope the water level gets above the structure eventually. Haha. Most of the stumps should be 3-6ft underwater at full pool.

the other issue that i may have without a possible leak is a limited water source. I was told by the nrcs that i have about 40 acres of watershed. it is mainly wooded except for the few acres i have cleared for my house and shop. i have a small stream that runs in to it year round. we are still having a pretty dry time here. the little stream seems to at least keep the current water level plus small increase in the pool. i feel that there is still a lot of absorption that is taking place as the water level increases.

i do have a large stream that is parallel to the back of my dam that i can pump from. the stream is about 20 ft from the base of my dam. i have a power source that i could run to it if needed.

You need the after affects of a hurricane or storm event to fill the pond so you can asses the rate of water seepage loss starting from full pool. I suspect some areas of the side walls will always be somewhat leaky based on your soil characteristics.

I dammed up a small stream on my property and pumped my 1.2 acres full. I waited until we got some rain before I started the pump so I wouldn't pump the stream dry. You will have a nice pond, hopefully without costing you too much more. Im pulling for you, we too built the pond and the house at the same time.

Notice the roller drum soil compactor that was used on ToddM's pond. I assume it was a vibratory compactor. Scott did your contractor use a sheepsfoot or vibratory compactor for compacting the layers (lifts) of the core trench?

there was no vibratory roller used but i would think an off road dump truck, regular dump truck and a rubber tire pan would offer more compaction than a pad foot roller. it was installed in 4-6" lifts.

before i found pondboss i had a smaller 3/4 acre pond built. the contractor there used nothing but a dozer and a track hoe to build it. it was 3/4 acre. it never leaked a drop. i now know after reading here for years that a dozer isnt the best for dam building/compaction, but i never had a problem. it stays full. during a real long drought it has dropped 4"s at the most.

this is the most water i have seen on the surface. no sign of moving water just really soaked soil.

this is the back side of the dam. the leak is near where you see the blue pipe. that is the area i am pumping from the other stream to fill the pond.

If you have great soil, and the correct moisture in it, you may be able to pack it with a dozer. But, I wouldn't recommend it for all ponds.

i agree esshup. i think i had perfect soil and excellent water source at my first pond. my new pond soil and rocky areas are going to be the problem here.