Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Leaking pond

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Question:

Our pond was dug last fall, approximately an acre according to the pond builder and the fish man who recently stocked it for me.

The problem; the day it was stocked I walked around to the back of the dam and saw two trickles of water, well, more like a steady flow of perhaps a gallon a minute from two places, obviously leaking, coming out at the base of the dam, one trickle in the middle of the dam, the other several yards to one side. The water level of the pond was down from full pool about a foot. The last rain to fill it was two weeks ago.

The pond contractor told me when he was building it there was a lot of rock in the area of the basin but that he thought he had sealed it with clay.

Question, would it do any good to add bentonite to the water and if so, how should that be performed? Along the base of the dam? Poured in dry? Digging out the dam, draining and reconstructing is not an attractive option.

I searched the site for bentonite references and saw only four msgs, none addressing this particular problem.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Joe

w.robinson----I have a new pond and noticed that I too am loosing water though no apparent area. It looked like a good clay bottom. I am aware of the need for the clay to swell, but what part do the hogs and cows play. I have horses in the pasture up the hill from my pond. Do I just wait for their waste to fill in the cracks , or do I stuff the cows and hogs in the cracks. could I save the ribs, and brisket to BBQ or do I have to use the whole cow. Seriously what part do they play.??

W. Robinson-- so it was the fact of the cows walking all over the dam -constantly repacking it that helped seal the pond. Did the Hogs do the same thing.
I have a little seapage at the base of the overflow pipe as it comes thru the main dam, but not that bad. My understanding that this also in time will seal itself along the pipe. My bigger leak is in my second pasture pond that is where we dug the clay for the main pond. It is basically a hole dug in the pasture so solid walls all around I thought that it had a good clay bottom. How long is a settling to occur before I would consider it a problem-- Months, years ????

W. robinson where are you from in TN, just wondering i'm from northwest TN (martin, tn)