Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Pond Leak ?

We have a 1 1/2 ac.pond thats 4 yrs old now. I will say in NW Oklahoma the wind blows 138 mph most of the time and its 90-100 degrees a good share of it,but it will seem to lose a little more water that we think it should. This pond was a cleanout of an silted in pond on farm land. It was dug to 17 ft where we hit a spring and had to quit. My ? is this, with this much depth this probably has a fair amount of water pressure down on the bottom where the spring was located. Has the process reversed and water is being pushed out through this spring? If so could bentonite seal it or what?

Springs are a double edged sword. While providing water, they can also steal it. I have seen several ponds "run backwards" over time, especially where springs were located in pond's bottom. If you depend on the spring to fill the pond, you may be in trouble. The hydraulics of springs are complicated, even though the concepts are simple. Absolutely...you could be losing water via the same spring you expect to fill your pond. The answer? Most people compact heavy clay onto their "spring" in order to stop the leak. If you have clay soils (like most of NW Okla.), use that. You shouldn't need bentonite.