Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Can pond liners eliminate seepage?

A little background to get this thread going;

1; Ponds lose 6" plus per month to seepage,
2; Ponds lose less than 6" per month to evaporation(SE),
3; rainfall generally exceeds evaporation(SE),

I'm considering putting in a small pond. Yet I've been overlooking the easy place to locate it. First, it has nill, 'bout a 1/2ac, watershed. (There's a creek 45' below that I can pump "some" water from.) Another thought, I can only squeak out about 8ft. of depth due to bedrock. It occurs to me that 7 to 8 foot a water may be as good as 7 to 10 foot, I'm mainly worried about a minimum level during the summer heat.

Questions:
1; Can pond liners generally prevent seepage and how necessary is a watershed, with a liner, in rainy Alabam?
2; How necessary is it to provide liner(EPDM) backing in sandy silt/sandy clay soil?
3; Wouldn't a 12" topping/backfill elminate the need to trench tuck the liner edge?
4; Do pvc liners last as long as a EPDM when using backfill?

I hope Bruce and a couple of the other experts have experience with this. I'm traveling back to Alabam this October and hope to put together a doable pond plan.

Question #1: Yes, pond liners will entirely eliminate seepage. If your rainfall exceeds your evaporation your pond will stay full, and actually need a small emergency spillway.

Question #2: I would think that you could research other nearby ponds in similar soils. Sounds leaky to me. I like my liners and have found that you will actually grow rooted vegetation in the silt that finds it's way into the pond. The water actually becomes clearer over time because the macrophytes tie up nutrients, that are then unavailable for single-celled algae.

Question #3: If you don't trench tuck the edge, what will you do with it? It is unsightly if you don't hide it. Hopefully you will do a better job than me.

Question #4: I don't have experience with PVC liners. You would have to find someone who has one and do a cost analysis which would involve depreciation of the EPDM and the cost of replacement of the PVC when it wears out. You probably won't wear out the EPDM in your lifetime. I drive my John Deere Gator on mine without any concerns. You can't kill it. If there's a nuclear holocaust all we'll have left is rats, cockroaches, the Hostess pies you buy at the gas station and EPDM liners.

Bruce, in case of a nuclear holocaust, don't forget the Star Trek food of the future, hotdogs. It's the only food that can remain unchanged on top of the garbage can for weeks. Outstanding! My thoughts were to have the dirt work smoothed out just 6" below finished. Lay in the EPDM liner, I'd extend it part way upon the dam crest as well. Seems tree roots wouldn't grow up and into the dam if it were dry inside. Then blanket it with 6" soil, including some top soil on the crest. I'd want to place lime rip rap just below the waterlevel to add weight and forage habitat. BTW, all the soil is Hartsells or Muskigum. That's 12 to 30" of soil. The Hartsells has a trace of clay, some 5% and the Muskigum has no clay, less than 24" deep and rocky. My neighbors' ponds have dropped 5 ft with this moderate drought. A liner is the answer. I'm jazzed, thank you

Hey guys. This thread is very timely for me. I have been lurking for some time and have read just about every thread on the site...literally. I think I will be looking at a similar situation with my pond (hope to go 120' x 80'). The soil is sandy loam with MANY large rocks and boulders, most of which are actually in a boulder field several feet thick. While I am going to get a backhoe to test several areas for clay, I believe a liner is my only option and hope to cover it with the boulders. Two applicable questions....
1 - What type of machine can you run over the liner once it is down (if any) and/or
2 - Do you have to cover the liner with soil over the entire surface area and then put boulders over top or could I just place boulders over the liner?

Any help you can provide would be much appreciated. I am working on a formal presentation to be given to Victoria to build this pond and I want to make sure I have answers for questions that may arise.

welcome to PB victor.

as i dont have experience with liners specifically for pond building, it would be good to have some follow-on advice from others, that said, some red flags went up reading your post.

in leaky soils, and spending the $$ to seal with liner, i would not risk puncturing the liner with rocks/boulders placed directly on liner. you might be able to CAREFULLY install a soil bed beneath each boulder you want to place, but keep in mind that boulders with irregular surfaces will have their weight distributed on the sharp edges, and water is extremely heavy. if the slightest tear occurs, water will find its way through, and yer pond will leak.