Meadowlark, I think that is great advice about the clay, and there seems to be a good bit in the soil there. I would not have added so much as two feet, so I am glad that you added that dimension. Perhaps I can make my "hump" in the bottom of the pond after all in effort to cap this spring. Or, since it is a relatively small area, so you think bentonite would be a surer fix? I wish I could show you a picture, but it does not seem that I can attach a file to this forum.
Thanks also for the explanation on the round bales. Makes sense. I'm trying to make as few mistakes as possible on this pond as I plan to build two more that will be somewhat larger. I learned today that I had the wrong information on the size. NRCS says it will hold 49.7 acre feet of water and cover 7 acres. The bulldozer man says it will be larger still because he extended it laterally somewhat beyond the original planned boundaries and added two terraces to increase runoff capture from adjacent hills. The dam looks HUGE. It's going to be tough to manage the round bales going down much of a grade at all. Thanks again for the good info. Regards, Tom
