99Fever, I sent you a PMail.
I have a question for anyone regarding the results of my test hole today . . . .
As I mentioned earlier, today I dug a hole about 3 feet deep and filled it to the very top with water. I was initially disappointed to see the water level drop significantly within the hour (ca. 4 inches); though I was extremely pleased to see a band of nice clay just sandwiched between the topsoil and the shale/silt (i.e., Weikert soil).
Some twelve hours later, and as some of you have probably experienced, I could not sleep but instead decided to get up and go check the hole with a flashlight. I was pretty much expecting to see it near empty. To my surprise, the water came down only a total of eight inches or so and is holding steady right there. It appears to be matching the water level of the seasonal run-off ditch about six feet away.
What should I make of this? Is this water level maintenance in the hole simply a reflection of the current water table level in the ground? If so, is this relevant, since I would be excavating well below that as well as including a core embankment? Since water table levels presumably change with the seasons, is the initial drop more relevant information with regard to the purposes of the test hole?
I appreciate any thoughts in trying to sort these various possibilities.
