Update--test pits dug and showed "glacial till hardpan" at about 4-5'. Contractor said looks good, they just need to carve the pond, crush up some till, and repack it with a sheepsfoot.
Mason jar test looks good for 50-60% clay (if I am reading it correctly). Also, poked some holes in a coke can and compacted a couple of inches as hard as I could. That was Monday and it has only lost about 1/8" of water as of Thursday morning.
About an hour after they left, I went down to look at the pits and noticed that water had began to seep into all 4 pits. The pits were only dug to about 5-6', showing a relatively shallow water table. They now have about 8-10" of water.
Is this good news or bad? My thinking is that if water can get in, water can just as easily get out. Granted this is raw soil, that hasn't been mixed and compacted, but it still worries me.
Will a good compacted layer isolate this water table? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Thanks,
Joe
