A few more questions for the experts,
First, there are a few big trees on the dam. They go up to 18" in diameter. Should I remove these or can I leave them? I know that you aren't supposed to have trees in the dam but I worry about the roots dying and creating pockets after I remove the trees. The dam is about 10' wide at the top and 8' to 10' tall. Should I remove the trees and then add a few feet of clay to the back of the dam if it starts to leak or just leave them. As far as I know, other than where the dam eroded away, there aren't any leaks now.
Also, there seems to be a layer of very dark red clay just below the muck, it's about 2" to 3" thick. Was that put in to seal the pond when it was built, or is it too thin to do any good. I am ending up removing most of it as I clean the pond out. In the picture, you can see the layer of clay, the photo was taken when it was very wet. Now that it has dries out, it is much more pronounced. There is about 18" of muck over it in this area which is next to the dam and about 3' of muck at the bottom of the pond.
Last question. The hole in the dam has a lot of roots running thru it. Is there anything special I should be doing? Do i just chop the ones that are hanging off or what?
Thanks for the help,
Jeff
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