Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations How long does it take for a new pond to seal?

Here are my main operating assumptions:

1) All soils, including the best clay packed in the best manner, will pass water through them. The rate that it passes through varies greatly depending on soil type:
Sand/gravel: don't blink, you'll miss the water going through.
Topsoil: you can blink, but don't bother holding your breath.
Good clay: Passes very little water; a miniscule or negligable amount.

2) When we finish a pond's construction, the soil in the dam and bowl are not saturated with water (or they'd be too wet to work in).

If I'm wrong on those assumptions, please stop reading and correct me.

Now, my thoughts:

Water NEVER stops soaking through a pond's dam and basin. The water will soak in slightly faster at first, until the soil below the water line becomes saturated, then seep through at a slower rate and pass into whatever aquifer lies under the pond.

If the pond is of good clay and is constructed as well as possible, we may never notice either of these losses, and probably won't ever have to worry about them if we do. With less desirable soils and/or construction, we are more likely to notice the loss and, unfortunately, have to worry about it. In some ponds, we easily notice and worry about the initial soaking-in loss, then when it slows down after saturation occurs all is well enough. This last situation is what I am thinking of when we talk about a pond "sealing" itself.

All ponds should be constructed perfectly with perfect clay, but realistically, it's not going to happen 100% of the time. Some locations won't allow it, some budgets can't afford it, and some "construction sequences will be less than optimum", to euphemistically avoid discussing shoddy practices.

In the case where a pond bottom has areas of different water permeability, I think water will pass through the entire bottom at differents rates in the different areas.

Does any of that make sense?