1) I didn't notice the wetness until this spring, but, I was not down below the pond over the winter and early spring. It wasn't wet immediately after the pond was dug, as I planted grass seed a couple weeks later.
2) There is alot of rock in the area, so I'd imagine that's whats below the pond. We hit solid rock about 8.5 feet down when we dug our basement. The guy down the hill hit the same kind of rock about 4 feet down and had to jackhammer his basement in.
Your explanation sounds very reasonable.
A buddy of mine who is a Civil Engineer was in town over the weekend and I had him look at it. He said he doesn't have alot of experience with springs, and the ones he's run into have been out of the way enough that they just throw some riprap on them and leave them.
He suggested perforated tile or a 'level spreader'. As he described it, it is basically a french drain, but you make sure the downhill side is completely level. If the trench fills with water, the water will seep out, hopefully, along the entire length of the trench, and not run off in streams, as it is now.
I'm still undecided on what to do.
