Originally posted by auburnbob:
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My leaks are through the dam (built without a keyway by the previous property owner). At this point, I think my options are: a) drain the pond and rebuild the dam with a keyway (expensive); b) line the pond with a pond liner material (expensive ... over $30K!); c) keep adding french drains to vector the leaks back to the spillway creek (moderately expensive - $5-10K); or d) do nothing and hope the leaks through the porous dam eventually seal up.
- Bob
is the base of dam/berm leaking at all, or are all leaks emanating at various points up on the berm?
as i mentioned in my first post, if the leaks are up in the berm (and not beneath it), you have another less costly option of simply repacking and grooming the inside side of dam face. non keywayed dams/berms can work fine in many situations depending on the geology etc..
also, i've seen several non keywayed dams that seep slowly at the base, but not enough to cause fatal summer drawdowns, particularly if you have supplemental summer water (i.e. small creek, spring, well etc.).
