Was at the pond yesterday. Had about an inch of rain since the last visit, and the pond was up about an inch. I dug into the bentonite around the drain pipe, and packed it in underneath. As I dug in there, it was obvious water had been sitting in there all along. It was saturated. Got most of the bentonite packed in underneath the pipe.
I think the guy that went out to fix it, just dumped it in on top if the pipe. It did virtually nothing.
After pic..

9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep.
RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these.
I think that's about all I should put in my little pond.
Otter attack in 2023