I live in ireland. in the field next to my parents house, it gets waterlogged at a certain site. once the rain stops the water does drain. But i guess the water table here is higher or there is slightly more clay in that area. it looks like this, below while raining and then below again after a night without rain.
I want to make this area a 'natural pond' without a liner. the soil here has lots of gleying, i presume that means the water table is high. what can i do to make it hold water in this area?
should i dig deeper? should i do a soil test around here or is it all going to be the same and cant be improved anyway? should i be 'gleying' the soil with horse manure?
any tips at all would be great. we get lots of rain here
Those dimensions are tiny. Is that all that you need for your projected size for an adequate wildlife pond?
Sometimes making the pond a little larger will enable you to retain a little more water in the pool during the dry season.
If you are finding some clay during your "shovel test", then you may want to rent a mini-excavator. I can get one for about $350/day in the U.S. If you could get one, then you might be able to get a decent pond in a single day.
If the depression seems to "drain" faster than just evaporation then you probably do have some type of natural leak. Typically, it is plant roots (either current or decayed) or depositional layers of sand/gravel that provide the water flow routes through an otherwise mostly clay soil.
I would probably strip the grass and best topsoil off of an area of higher ground where a berm/dike would contain the most surface water from flowing past the area of your pond. Dig out the pond and put that material in the berm area to increase its elevation. Then re-cover the berm with your saved topsoil.
You need to save some of your best clay by the pond to line the bottom and the sides. (Especially if you see some well-defined layers in the sides.) After making a 6"(?) thick clay liner you need to moisten the clay and then compact. Maybe by hand with a heavy tamper, but renting a vibratory plate compactor might work better. The good news is that since your pond is only 2.5 feet deep, there will not be much hydrostatic pressure trying to cause your seal to leak!
Hope that gives you some ideas for the job. It is difficult to give good advice from far away and without being able to see the actual soil you are dealing with. Perhaps some other members will chime in with some improvements over my basic advice!
