Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations New pond is leaking

We just had our old farm pond dredged and had the leaking dam repaired about 2 months ago. Now it is losing water. 4 days ago, after a week of constant rain, it was at full pool, gently cascading over the spillway. Now it is about 5" below that level. The excavator who did the work says that the water is probably leaching through the soil and resting at the level of the water table (which is barely 3/4 full). He suggested that we may have to use a liner to get the pond to stay filled. There are numerous springs that had already filled the pond to the 3/4 mark. Would a liner work with that water basically flowing underneath it? We are disappointed because we had hoped that fixing the dam was going to give us the pond that we had hoped for. It hasn't. I've already sunk logs for habitat and was getting ready to go get fish this week. I'm not sure what to do now.

If there are springs in the bottom of the pond, the water will flow both ways, depending where the water pressure is the highest.

On if it will work or not, here is a company to call. Talk to them.

http://www.btlliners.com/

What was wrong with the dam?, how did they decide that was the problem and how was the dam 'repaired'? Can you determine by seep on the back side of the dam that the repair worked? Is it leaking at the core of the dam?

If you are leaking through the bottom of the pond then there are options with polymer sealants. If the dam leak can be accurately determined these sealants might help there as well.

The dam is concrete. They put about 4 loads of clay up against the dam and the back side was filled with the material that was dredged from the pond. I don't think the leak is at the dam anymore. I am only speculating when I say that I think the water is leaking out through the ground, and not the clay that was added to the dam area of the pond.

Unless wanting a "water table pond", the entire pool area of a pond has to be lined with a minimum of 1 foot of well compacted, quality sealing clay on the sides, and 2 feet of compacted clay on the bottom.

Springs need to be sealed off. As esshup said, springs can give water, but they can also act as drains if the pond level is higher than the water level of the spring source. (water always flows to it's lowest level)

I would give it some time, (at least six months) unless you find an active leak, before taking expensive action. It may seal better as the clay settles and a little sedimentation occurs. It is good to put a metal yardstick into the clay in shallow water to quantify water levels.