I have a 3/4 acre pond dug last year with a dozer.
Contractor said the soil was as good as it gets..i checked the soil and you could ball it up and it would stay together..so I put structure in the bottom, drilled a well, and started pumping 20 gallons a minute...we had some good rain before I started pumping and the bottom seemed to hold the water well..and came up several feet and stayed...the level continued to come up till I had about 8 feet in the deepest part..and then it did not come up any further..with recent rains it came up 2 foot and now has gone back down a foot in a week period even though im still pumping water..I did the soil test where you pack it down and put water on it and it leaked out overnight..question is how long should I give this new pond time to "settle" or "soak in" ? Water is not up to side of dam yet and no leaks on the backside of the dam..
I have read through the other posts and am a little confused about this issue.. I did not have the soil packed ...he ran over it with his dozer..will the water pressure help compact it over time? Has anyone had success with applying bentonite to the surface of a pond if they have just a small seepage problem?