It never ceases to amaze me with what I don't know and worse, failed to think about.
The area where my pond was dug was an old rice paddy, ground water at the surface in the lower half of the plot. As the sandy clay was being excavated I could see the water running from it back into the hole. The pond filled to 8' in about 2 weeks with ground water and seepage from the banks. This process slowed, but continued for another 2 weeks. We are experiencing a severe drought and day time temps have been in the high 90s for a couple of months. The water is now receding, I believe from evaporation and seepage back into the banks. I can see a wet line that looks to be about 2' above the water line and any where on the borrow dams I can dig to, damp to moist soil in 6" or less. There is no visible water line on the exterior surface of the dams, the pond is about 10 weeks old. I had assumed that the moisture would eventually drain. I was planning to take the water level to within a foot of the top when the monsoon started in another month or so, which would be about 11' deep in the center and 7' at the highest dam, 10' tall on the backside.
Is there a practical way to remove or reduce the water content of the banks?
Sorry for the windy question.
