I had a similar experience with a very old pond on our farm. Was not even thinking of renovating it but had some extra time with the dozer while the scraper was working on our new pond and not much for the dozer to do so I started pushing muck out of the bottom and extended the old pond bigger. It had been just a pasture cattle pond back when there were cows on the place. When I dug out the newer portion we ended up with a large pile of clay stockpiled to the side of the pond.
This pond had always had a seep for as long as I can remember. It was nothing serious and the pond had enough runoff that it was never a problem. But there was always a wet spot behind the dam where a tractor could get stuck if not careful.
After the new pond was finished and again had some time with the dozer and scraper (we own our own machines) I decided to put the excess clay on the back side of the dam. The pond had already filled at that time and the wet spot was still there. Like yours, this old pond had a narrow dam which was too steep to mow on the back side. So my idea was to put the excess clay in there and slope it about a 3-1 so it could be mowed.
When I ran across the wet spot I remembered the seep that had always been there. I dug down as deep as I dared with the dozer without getting stuck (almost did) which was not very deep. Pushed fresh clay off into it and commenced packing it in. Once I got enough over it so the scraper would not get mired down moved the rest of the dirt with the scraper, compacting as I layered in the new clay.
Now I would not absolutely swear the seep is completely fixed, but at least there is no wet spot in that particular place any more. There is a small seasonal creek that runs directly behind the dam so it is possible the seep just moved lower and is going into the creek.
But now the dam is about three times as wide at the base (runs to the edge of the creek), has no wet spot, and is sloped enough to be mowed safely with a flex wing mower and tractor. So I either A. fixed the leak, or B. slowed it down a bunch or C. made it leak in a more convenient place (directly into the creek instead of surrounding ground.
I'm going with A. and that's my story and I'm sticking to it. At least till I find evidence otherwise.
So like you, I just widened the dam (essentially made a new dam on the back side of the old dam) at the base and it seemed to fix the problem.
One thing about a leak, if it is big enough to erode it will only get bigger and worse. If a person can get it slowed down to a point where it can not do more damage, there is the potential for particles in the water to eventually plug it up and fix it more permanently. At least that is the way it would seem to work to me.
I may have just got lucky. I always try to give luck its due credit as luck I believe plays a larger role in life than a lot of people believe. If it were more dependable, I would rely on luck all the time. Problem is, luck is just to darn undependable. And sometimes it can be the wrong kind of luck.
Last edited by snrub; 12/19/13 07:59 AM.
