Hi all, my one acre pond has finally filled. I have a 8” drain going thru the dam that has started to leak on the back side of the dam about 30 feet from the waters edge. The pipe is about 2 feet under water and has a mortar collar poured around it on the water slope. The top of the collar is in about a foot of water and the bottom in about 2 1/2 feet. I also built in a ball valve at the end of the pipe for draining purposes.

Unfortunately, a few weeks ago when the water was lower the pond iced then the snow melt pushed the ice up under the drain end and lifted the pipe assembly about 4 inches. The mortar collar essentially was raised up above the pond slope exposing a small gap under the pipe. Today, a week later, I notice a very soft spot where the water is seeping out on the back slope.

My best immediate guess of a plan is to get two or three hundred pounds of bentonite and try to seal around the mortar collar. I have access to “bentonite chips” and “bentonite powder” from a local Facebook vendor.

What do you think of the plan? Also, form of bentonite would be best?

Thanks in advance fo the help, Tony