Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Leaking Berm

So as part of my pond build I had my contractor construct me a 3/4 acre area that I can flood for duck hunting in the fall. I pump water out of my lake into this field and then at the end of the season I can open a valve and the water will drain back into my lake. Unfortunately, I noticed a leak under my drain pipe. My drain pipe is just 3" PVC and I did use two anti seep collars. The pipe was initially set too low and the contractor had to dig it out of the berm and raise it up. I suspect that when he did that he didn't do a good job compacting the ground (he was definitely in a rush to finish at the end). Will any of the polymer sealants work in this scenario? The water in this area is only around 30-36" deep, so not a lot of pressure. Also are there any other cheap fixes I can try? Fortunately, where this leak is the water just goes back into the lake and then it looks like every 3 weeks or so I will have to get the pump out again to top off my field.

Follow up question, we have the same scenario where we built berms near a creek to pump into during duck season. Despite the soil being fairly heavy clay, the berms leak like crazy. After pumping water in almost all the water is gone in a matter of a week. This soil has much more rock in it, so I just suspect that there are probably a few areas where the berms don't have enough clay content to be effective. Is it worth dumping some polymer into this situation or would it just be a giant waste of money?

Hey Centex I help folks nationwide with Pond Construction, rehab, and leak abatement issues and my time is always free to my Pond Boss family. Feel free to reach out anytime so I can learn more about your situation and offer some insights.

tj@hudlandmgmt.com