Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - pond experience needed

Hello all Iive in the Marianna fl area. I have a nightmare with a new pond and need someone with a little knowledge to look and see if I can salvage it. I can send videos or pictures to anyone who cares to see and would love to connect with someone in my area that can see it in person. Any help with this would greatly appreciated.
Thanks Jason Jones 8508410032

Jeez, I'm sorry to hear about your ordeal.

O.K.If the clay can be moistened and rolled into a pencil shape between your palms, it's good enough to seal the pond. If not, see if you can find better clay there. Stockpile the good stuff. You will need enough to cover the whole pond bottom and sides 18"-24" thick.

Cut the sides back 3:1 or 4:1. You were absolutely correct about the slope. You should cut the bottom/slope/sides 18"/24" deeper than the finished dimension. Beg, borrow or rent a sheepsfoot roller (not a smooth barrel roller).

If you have good clay in the bottom of the pond (see above) then run the sheepsfoot roller over it and let it "walk up" off the material, then take some of the good clay that you stockpiled, spread it out 6"-8" thick all over the pond bottom/sides. Run the sheepsfoot roller over it again until it compacts it and starts to walk up out of the clay. Repeat that 3-4 times so you have an 18"-24" thick layer of clay all over the pond bottom and sides that have been sheepsfoot rolled.

If you find areas of soil that are sandy or permeable (iffy for sealing) dig them out at least 24" deep and sideways back into good material, take the stockpiled good clay and pack it into the iffy area that you dug out.

Yes, it's a lot of work, but it will be even more work if the pond isn't sealed. You will have to play with water content of the clay to get the "pencil" and then you will have to try to duplicate that moisture content when you start sheepsfoot rolling the clay.

A smooth barrel roller won't work because the layers need to be "knitted" together to hold water and stop it from traveling between the layers.

Dig it wider I think that will be easier than trying to put the dirt back and trying to compact that dirt on the steep slope. You can't put a few feet down and compact it, the lower layers won't be compacted.

Sorry about your problems, that is a dirt borrow pit, not a pond!

esshup has given you excellent advice on your construction process, but you still need to determine if you have the right materials to complete the pond. When that is confirmed, then you can talk about the proper equipment and steps, etc.

I live in Tornado Alley, so all of the houses have basements. We do NOT like to have the foundation walls built in clay. Clay minerals will actually incorporate water into their structure, unlike sand which just allows water to exist between the particles. Therefore, when clay gets saturated it swells, and when you go through a long, dry spell it loses the water and you see the big cracks in the soil where the clay actually shrinks. That cycle is bad for foundation walls, but good for a pond because the clay usually stays saturated most of the time. (I hope your house construction concrete work makes accommodations if built on that type of material.)

Can you make clay balls when you wet your material? Even better, can you make clay pencils? If you are not sure, then you can get a clay content analysis for your material. You can even have some sand mixed in with your clay and make a tightly sealed pond. However, you must thoroughly destroy any sand layers or stringers, by cutting back and then mixing with your good material before you compact in lifts.

Is the pond mostly the size and depth that you want? If so, you could push the bad material out of the pond basin with a small or medium dozer. Then scarify the bottom (disc or break up the layers) and then perform your first compaction. You could then knock down your sides and make a 3:1 slope. If some of that material is good, then do another compacted lift to seal the bottom of the pond.

Cut the side slopes a little too deep. When you think you have the bottom sealed, then start your compaction of the sides. After the first compaction, you will need either one or two more 6" compacted lifts to finish.

Hopefully, you can rent something like a Cat CP323 or CP563. I believe those are much easier to use going up and down the side slopes than a pull behind sheepsfoot, and the vibration greatly helps the compaction.

P.S. Do you have a water source? You must wet your clay material to the proper water content to get good compaction. Do you have a buddy in the area that builds roads for government jobs? He can probably give you good pointers on how they compact the road base of local materials before they start adding the aggregate.

Good luck on turning your hole into a pond.

jbird5986

Go to your local NRCS office at 2741 Penn Ave Marianna, FL 32448-4027. Talk to someone there about building the pond, and see if they can do a site visit to get eyes on the soil. They will also have a soil map at the office telling you what type of soil permeability you have.

They can also tell you about your watershed and if you have enough watershed to sustain a pond that size.

You pay for the service through your taxes, it doesn't cost you a thing to have them come out.

Also go here: https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92487#Post92487 Go to the link and download the USDA 590 handbook and read it. Twice.

You don't need a biologist, you need a soils scientist or a soils engineer.

If you do have to go with the pond liner. look at the woven fabric geotextile liners that BT Liners have. They are way more impervious to punctures than your standard EDPM liners and can be used without a pad under the liner if care is taken to remove sharp pokey things.

I talked to them about a project late last year and they could make a liner up to 1 1/4 acre in size that was one piece so seaming on-site wasn't required. Their liners are a LOT lighter than EDPM liners too, so shipping and installation costs were lower too.

A customer in Arkansas used the woven geotextile liner from BT liners oh, 7-8 years ago for a small 1/20th acre wildlife pond. Both hogs and deer utilize the pond and there have been 0 punctures in it so far.

To help the liner live up to it's guaranteed life and beyond, you are supposed to cover it with 12" clean soil. A tracked skid steer or dozer could be used to spread out the soil on top of the liner, the only thing that the operator has to be extremely careful of is to refrain from having the track contact the liner.