Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations I'm fillin in that holler!!!!!!!

Tuesday, 10/25/04, equipment is heading to my proposed lake site. I'm so pumped, I can't believe it. Bet I won't sleep tonight. Like a kid on X Mas eave.

Lake is going to be around 4.5 acres +-. Going to go with the $5,500 15" steel stand pipe riser w' anti seep collars, pulling water from the bottom. Maybe build a couple of islands. I can't wait. I'll keep you all posted, and if I can figure how to post picts, I will. I posted the lake site history, back in January. Thanks to those who have helped, and thanks to all of you for sharing your experience.

Wish me luck.

Good luck hopefully during construction you can send some of that rain I see in Tennessee all the time down a little South! Go to the faq and you can see how to post pictures.

Bob

I know the feeling -- awesome ain't it. Sorry, but you'll probably worry about it till it fills. Good luck!

One hour in, the dozer guy broke a hydrolic line. Then it started raining. Figures.

So far, the have begin the keyway trench, and hit limestone bedrock at 8' deep. Going to see where the spring is going, as it goes underground, upstream from the dam. This will determine whether or not we will hoe ram the bedrock, to put the keyway into it. If the water is running the bedrock, rather than nearer the surface, we will hoe ram the keyway into the rock.

The dam will be right at 250' long.

We will use a 15" steel standpipe riser for the spillway.

We have cut the keyway mostly in. The spring, which went underground, upstream, has been found physically, running the bedrock, across the keyway. We likely will be cutting 4' down into the bedrock, and packing it with clay, and then packing clay into the keyway. This will block the water from finding a way over the bedrock.

Rain has held us up, quite a bit, so far.

The topsoil, from the pool, should be gone, by the end of today.

Anyone know where I can go besides photobucket to post picts? Photobucket is not letting free accounts start right now due to system upgrades. Anything similar out there?

Keep us posted. Looks like we are supposed to get quite a bit of rain over the next few days. Mine is probably about 1/3 full.

I have not checked this myself, but I think there is a site called "iphoto" and maybe "ophoto."

W. Robinson, here's one.

Webshots

Update, in the ram hoed keyway, which has been dug a minumum of 2' deep into limestone bedrock, with 8' of soil above, we have intercepted several springs, running the bedrock, as was predicted.

On a more ominous note, we have intercepted a 20 gpm, maybe more, spring that I was unaware of. It is about 2 feet down, in an area we rammed to 4 feet. It is found on the front side of the keyway, in the corner of the keyway, and gushing. We will put clay in the keyway and run a vibratory roller on it, hopefully to seal it off, and make it go back to where it originates, or somewhere else. The entire weight of the keyway, and core of the dam, will be on this spring.

I have witched the spring, and it follows from it's location, up the side of the lake, right about the waters edge. At the point it leaves the lake area, it is some 30' down, which means it is moving basically on a slightly sloping to kinda level, in the area, below the lake. I quit looking at the draw where it comes from, as that is where my property line is. It is in a hilly area, with hills 150' to 200' above the lake, within .25 to .5 mile. I don't know what this means. If anyone has experienced something like this, please do respong.

Steve Young, are you out there?

Still moving slow. Equipment operators son is in Jail due to DUI. Got busted last night. Only 1 D6 ran today.

Regarding spring coming out of limestone, in the keyway, which was ram hoed into limestone, we will encapsulate(spell) it into concrete box, and put a 2 inch steel pipe into it, and run it strait up through the dam. If there is enough head of pressure, it will be an additional water source.

Good thing he wasn't working on the dam! Hope all continues to go well and the rain isn't slowing you down. Had over 4 inches here in the last 2 weeks.

Bob

The dam is estimated to be 1/2 complete. The backside is mostly done, and about 1/3 of the front.

We piped the spring into a spring box, made of a 55 gallon drum. The pipe will go straight to the top of the dam. Another will go along the bottom and through the dam. This will take pressure off the keyway.

We poured 4 yards of concrete over most of the spring box, and formed a blob. This will protect it, over the years, and from the equipment.

Oh yeah, the spring we intercepted in the base of the keyway and boxed up wound up being 5 gpm, per my measurement. Probably 20 in the winter, or 10 average, annually.

W:

I just made a discovery on my email server that about 50-messages were routed to my junk email folder without my knowledge. Unfortunately yours was one of them. I wondered why several clients and subcontractors had told me that they had sent an email that never arrived. Any way, my apologies for not responding to your questions sooner. It sounds like you have been able to work through the spring problem.

Karst topographies are not commmon problems here in Michigan for lake and pond projects due to the thick surfical glacial deposits, however, we deal with them on many construction projects because the voids create sinkholes and cause buildings to settle. We prefer to pressure grout the voids using a drill rig, which injects a bentonite/cement mixture under pressure deep into the formation and seals cracks and fissures.

The springs/voids form because the carbonate rock is soluble and "bedded", which basically means layered. Water dissolves the carbonate along the layers resulting in porosity. It's a relentless process. Hopefully in your case, the repairs will last a lifetime. Let me know if you still have any questions.

Steve, thank you for your help. There are many great posters here, but I don't know of any who can help as much as you can, with hydrology issues.

In a few days, I will give an update. I haven't felt much like talking about things, because of cost overuns. Plus ever time it gets dry enough to work, more rain comes in.

Robinson,

What's the status with your pond now? Sounds like you are in a karst area, similar to mine.

Status is: Pond finished in April,a bout when it quit raining in TN. It went from two acres, to one acre and held. I noted that we did not seal where the spring went underground, (in the lake floor) as was recommended, after viewing satellite photos, and pictures of construction. They pond was losing 1" a day. I hired a dozer back out, and he put a foot but probably two of clay, over where the spring was going in.

water has been holding over his work. I gained an acre on Tuesday, freshly covering the acre which had dried, making it about the original 2 acres I had upon completion. It has gone down an inch, probably due to wicking, as of last night.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It cost so freakin much, I can't really talk about it much, unless it's successful.

Glad to hear that its filling back up. Mine got down to about half full after all of the dry weather we had last spring thru fall. It started running out the overflow after Tuesdays rain.

Thanks Coach. I saw you were having problems. I hope you all got those fixed.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that yours is now holding.

Robinson,

Good luck. I wish you the best. I'm in Sumner County near Hendersonville. Which county are you in? Also what acreage do you expect your lake to be, what is the total you've achieved thus far, and what is the size and cover type of your watershed? I saw when searching the old posts that you cut a key into the bedrock. Do you still feel that was the right thing to do?

My life long dream of constructing a pond has been a nightmare, exposed more after a 5" rain we had 6 days ago. I will try to patch massive leak, which appears to be getting larger, and going around the dam.

I still plan to do a complete story of my life long dream, if I ever succeed, which I've poured a massive financial effort into, which is actually now hurting me. I have a cut off figure of money to spend, assuming I'm not divorced by then, that I will spend no more.

Never construct a large pond or lake in a Karst region of the country, unless you have more money than sense.

Hang in there.

Robinson, is there any way we can be of help?