So stirring it up seems to help? How old is this pond? I might keep it up for awhile but like esshup said clay liner would be better. I have the same problem with seepage but cant see it. Its just going in to the ground I believe. Im watching levels now closely to see when it stops to get an idea of where the seepage starts.If you know right where its seeping I would be inclined to to try some more bentonite if you can get it drained down to where its at so you could mix it and pack it good.
Yeah, the stirring helped almost immediately. Faster than the bentonite really. I was very surprised. The pond was built in the 50's from what I understand. I believe it held water till brush took over the dam with the last owners... They had the place for 15 years as a vacation home and never left the house. It was still holding pretty good for me tho. It kept the water level at about 80%. Till we had a huge rain storm 13" in 24 hours. It washed over the dam and wore off the top. In my haste to fix it I made it worse. The level fell to about 30%. I've been working on it off and on since. Never had as much luck as this time tho. I've tried clay, concrete, dirt, all manner of things. Pond muck... hmm.
I have no real way of draining it down easily. Except for a long summer dry spell. The stream that runs in would overwhelm any practical sized pump if it rains more than a 1/4". The pond has a spill way area only. The water just runs over a low area with all stone. No pipe or anything like that.
If the water goes down this summer. I will keep placing the good dirt in the area where I see the water flowing on the far side of the dam. But I'm hoping it works for now. A major redo would be needed to get it to seal off completely and permanently from the responses.
