A year ago+ I posted here because my pond was not holding water. It is now - and I wanted to share what I think worked.
First off - we never started it right - we simply laid the blue clay on top of the original soil & didn't compact - now I know - that was not the right thing to do. Most of you who responded - suggested it could take more than 1 season to 'seal' - and it did.
Here's what we did that I think 'assisted' in it holding water this winter.
1) We drained the pond completely & sprayed it with a product called DB-100 from http://www.ponddoctors.org. Really, slimy, slippery stuff - not very expensive either.
2) Covered it with new clay & compacted where we could - some walls just too steep.
3) Got more runoff 'directed' into the pond' for the winter
It's pretty deep - 18' in spots, and we got it 3/4 full this winter and holding.
Just last week - to solve the problem of a consistent water source - I also installed a solar water pump - with the help of the guys from Oasis Montana. My only water source other than runoff is 2100' away and 130' down the hill. A single 130 Watt solar panel & a Loretnz Boost 'slow pump' - (it's a little bitty thing 10" long by 4" wide)- pumps nearly 2.5 gal/min for 6-7 hours a day...every day...its impressive.
FYI - these 'slow pumps' can't do a lot of volume as you might think of a trash pump, etc. But they are made for this type of app & can push the water in excess of 400' high! That's very hard to do!
Some of you guys may already know all of this - but for me - first time around. Really interesting experience.
Thanks for all your help - I suspect we'll top it off this winter - and/or as we continue to pump thru the summer.
Thanks for your help - this site is invaluable for a novice like myself.
If I can answer any other questions about what we did - please let me know.
