There is a core trench. I watched the daily progress of the pond and it appeared to be constructed as I've read they should be here on Pond Boss.
Yes, the dam is damp on the non-water side. Maybe a third of the way up. The water coming out of the ground is downhill of the damp areas and not really on the dam, but on the ground downhill of the dam.
The damp side of the dam is where the 6-8 feet of earth was removed for the dam. This is maybe a 50x60 area and also where the water is coming up from the ground. It sits back perhaps 20-30 feet from the core trench and downhill from the edge of the dam, where it ties in with the bank.
That is an ugly description. I will try to get some pictures posted here in the next day or so, as I am really interested in what you guys think.
I'm thinking that when they removed the clay from this area to use in the dam, a spring was exposed. It's just unfortunate that they used the clay from this area and exposed the spring at what ended up being the edge of where the dam tapers off.
