In a recent fit of madness and little consideration I decided I�ll try to clean out my pond and fix a few leaks, what the heck I�m a redneck w/ a few masters degree�s and the ability to operate heavy machinery...I�ll cut to the chase, the pond was built in the 40�s every oldtimer �swam� in it when they were a pup. So big trees on the dam, six feet of pudding silt, no clay on the bottom (bedrock) and a constant run of spring water. Oh yes the pond was built on top of the spring �I almost grasp that whole hydrostatic pressure thing� I have a soil engineer friend who comes by and shakes his head everyday. The problem is multi faceted and here lies the question how to close this can of worms. I�m a week into this and way over budget, I�ve taken out the trees on the top and inside of the dam. Cleaned out 75% of the sludge, pumped a few thousand gallons of rain and spring water (it doesn�t rain in Texas in august), platted the inside core of the dam and found organic matter, gravel seems, bedrock, and a bunch of old dr. pepper bottles on the bottom. I�ve found red clay, blue clay, white clay, and in areas 5ft. thick (which is best by the way). overwhelming...and I have displaced millions of bullfrog, crawfish, salimander, turtles, and snakes. No fish not a one. Hind site starting over would have been the choice but now I�m in the thick mud of it I need ideas and so far this group has been great reading but time is short.
