Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam Washout in dam

I was wondering how should i fix the wash out in it. Can i just fill it in with dirt or do i have to pack it. Does it matter what type of soil?

pack it, roll it, repack it, re roll it, step on it, pounce on it...then cover it with some contractors mix and water it, throw in a little lime (assuming you used clay to refill), then bermuda grass this spring. put a barrier in front of area that washed out, rocks etc. also, figure out why it washed out to begin with...spill way not big enough? did you use clay to begin with or sand/dirt? do you need to raise your dam? your dozer guy should pack in some new clay (or "gumbo clay" grade.. cheaper than road quality clay and should work)..pack the new clay, then drive back and forth on it with the heavy dozer tracks...should pack it nicely. seed it as soon as he's done because i found the seed grows well when it gets partially covered down in the tracks the dozer leaves behind. if a small area...still need good packing...but may want to consider bermuda sod. just a thought. hope it helps. mark

I seem to remember reading (I think it was here) that you don't want over 35% clay. The theory was that when solid clay dries, it cracks. Thus, you need a mixture. I can tell you from experience to not make the other 35% sand. It washes in too much. Mark is certainly right about packing and repacking.

Thanks for the input. The dam did not wash all the way out. It is washed out to about 3ft from the full stage of the lake. I think the orginal dam was a mixture of sand and clay. The dam already had bermuda grass on it. That was proubly what saved it. Another thing why it washed out was because the lake was already running around then had 16 inches in one night. The water has never been this high in 50 years of owning this lake and proubly will not happen again for awhile.

many a ponds have been destroyed to 50 year rains. i highly recommend an emergency spillway. many ponds have small overflow areas, but also a biiigggg emergency spillway. i designed mine to have a biiiggg emergency spill way, with it also being the overflow (seeded with grass of course to prevent erosion). one key thing i did that i've seen some other ponds not doing...i directed the spill way drainage AWAY from the back slope of the dam. i've seen a few ponds that the over flow water erodes behind the dam and later on whamo...it cuts the corner of the dam out. easy dozer solution. mark

Ok thatnks for the advice. Going to get in done in the next 3 months.