Originally posted by nashfireman:
I talked with the contractor that built my neighbors pond about building my pond. He said he didnt have to core trench the dam on the neighbors because the clay was so good. I thought you always had to core. So I`m asking you, the experts. My pond will be about 100 ft from the neighbors. I expect the clay to be about the same. Sould the dam be core trenched?
nashfireman, you started a fun discussion.
in my mind, the necessity for a core trench depends on the risk variables relative to yer situation. to clarify yer situation, add some specifics such as:
what kind of surface area and depths are we talking about for pond....how big?
will it be a dug pond or damned ravine?
do you have year round water supply?
how deep is the water table groundwater?
any bedrock in area?
have you done any test pits?
answers to questions like these will dictate whether its appropriate to core the dam or not. as you can see from the posts above, in some areas like jas's a core trench might be overkill, however, special "just right" areas are less common then marginal pond building areas, and thus building a dam with a keyway is usually the best way to go.
