Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam New pond Water levels

Hello All:

The 1/2 acre pond that I had built by a local construction operator has experienced some wild water level fluctuations. The pond was completed last fall and going into the winter it had about 3ft of water in it. The damn looks very stable to me and I had Rye grass growing on top of the damn before winter set in. This area, (southeastern Indiana) experienced a 18 to 20 inch snow fall in 3 days prior to December 25, 2004. That snow then melted with a warm up about a week and 1/2 later and absolutely filled my pond up to its unfinished outlet pipe. I received I believe about 8 to 10 feet of water. I have now completed my drainage and it is working fine but my main question is water level. My pond has fluctuated with large rains to being absolutely full to a level I looked at today of being about 5 or 6 feet below what I had seen it at in the past. I have heard as commented in another Topic that ponds can take up to 2 years to settle or the earth around the pond to become saturated. Is this what others have seen with your new ponds? Should I be worried about a leak that I can not see? I have inspected all areas of the damn to its base and can find no leak but I did observe the damn itself contained much more moisture than the ground surrounding it. At higher levels in the damn the moisture was much less. I'd like to get these water levels consistent and would not mind spending the $100 to $200 on bentonite and dump it in on the damn side if I think I could get a faster seal. Does anyone have any comments about this or similar experiences? I am factering in evaporation but to see a 5 to 6 foot drop really bothers me and I am wondering what could be happening if I am not finding any leaks?

Thank You,

Pharm_pond

Pharm_pond,

The water has to be going somewhere and if you are absolutely sure it isn't leaking around the dam at all, then that would seem to leave the pond bottom as the other possibility. Were there any sandy soil, rocky areas, springs, etc. or anything not covered in thick clay on the pond bottom noted during construction?

Sounds like one heckuva leak. With that much water loss I wonder if it is going under the dam; or out the side or bottom. A couple of hundred dollars of bentonite dumped over the side of the dam probably wouldn't do much good. You may have to drain it and see what the problem is. Just my opinion. Did you see any sandy areas when it was built?

My pond went down 1.5 ft. per day when I first filled it. Now (2 yrs later) it only drops maybe a quarter of an inch a day. You may want to give it more time before you get too worried.

The pond was clay covered. This guy has done several before. Two of his own that are very nice looking ponds. The ground was not sandy and I remember him putting a good core on the bottom center of the damn. This water loss occured over roughly a 3 to 4 month period. I have him coming out this weekend to look at it again. I remember when this pond was initially dug water slowly began to fill and it did not go anywhere. Only after about an 8 ft rise over the winter I am now able to see the ponds full dimensions. Late winter saw a few large rains but we have been dry here recently and I am clueless as where the water is going. Like I said I think it is saturating the soil around it as that damn on the back bottom side is much more damp than the ground surrounding it. I will give it some more time and give an update, as I said he is coming over this up coming week end and could possible shed some light for me.

Thanks....

Well, what makes me think that it is still saturating the ground is the fact that during that winter snow melt the ground was frozen or at least frozen just under the surface. So the water must have accumulated with no where else to go but fill and out my half dug drain. I mean this thing went from about 4 or 5 standing feet to full to the brim, (about 13 to 16 feet) in a few days of thaw. I don't know if many of you live in this area of southeastern Indiana but to get 18 + inches is unheard of around here, especially when it all melts 10 days later.

I in no way was expecting it to fill in a few days. I thought this would be a slow fill through the spring. In fact I wish it would have now as I have seen the full capacity, and I am very much wanting it back. But now I will have to be patient and just wait for process to occur naturally I guess. Thanks for sharing as it does ease my mind about possible underground leaks. That pond bottom was very solid and layered properly as it was holding well when 3 or 4 feet was in it.