I plan to take the Excavator around the banks and make a friendlier slope, yes...

At least get them back to 3:1, 18 degrees.

I'm just not sure if I need to pack clay there? Will the clay I have even work?

If you read that pond site evaluation, it does not say I have to line the banks with clay, it only says that is an option if I wish to do so.

The clay I have is so silty, it looks grey when I dig it up, but piled up next to the sandy loam & dries out, it almost looks the same. I'm not sure it would be good for sealing?

Here is a picture of my spoils piles:

Piles

Here are a few pictures showing the clay when freshly dug up, it does not look like this when it dries, it looks almost just like the sandy loam soil:

Clay

I could go around the banks, remove some of the soil, replace it with clay, then add a layer of topsoil, like this picture depicts:

Bank Construction

My big question is, will all that effort provide results? Or will all the diesel fuel be used in vain if the clay I have just lets the water run right through it?

Would I have to line the island banks with clay as well? I would think no?

I did dig a test hole a few years back:

Layers

I tried the soil test where you take a wad of the clay and try to roll in in your hands. My clay was very silty, and crumbled, but I could do the test and IIRC, got about a 1/2 in diameter piece to get about 3 inches long before it broke. It was certainly not like modeling clay however...








Last edited by ETD66SS; 04/23/08 07:43 AM.