I'm honestly surprised that the original poster is in northern Indiana and contacted 3 pond builders who have dug several ponds but who have not heard of the importance of the proper compaction process and the tools needed to do it. Is it possible that 3 pond builders in his area all build 'leaky' ponds and that is just the state of the art? Would it be helpful to suggest companies to him that do use better techniques, kind of a word of mouth recommendation? This could be done through private messaging of course.
We are in SW MI and I'm not aware of many new ponds being dug or any pond builders that have the proper skills so I can't give a good recommendation. By us ponds are dug by 'dirt movers' and all tend to penetrate into ground water seams and therefore they all are 'leaker' ponds that go up and down with ground water tables. It ends up being a way to put your money to use similar to paying the government to research why potholes happen in MI or why drug use is higher in inner city neighborhoods.
