The water level in the pond finally dropped to the point where the floating dock I built in the spring of 2014 was just starting to sit on the ground. I seized the opportunity to add another 16’ section to the stationary portion, add some hand rails, a couple of benches and some traction strips to the gangway for those times when it is pretty steep. After it dries a bit, I’ll stain it in the spring. Here are a few pix for your mid winter perusal.

sure is a nice dock

ditto, very awesome.

That floating part really can go down at a steep angle with 'low tide' I figured I would be building a floating portion like yours that would take the big swings in water level as is typical in ground water ponds.

Have you considered using soilfloc sealant? It is very likely that you could see minimal variation and could potentially even make the last section of dock stationary/fixed!

Very nice job. I especially like the benches.

great job on the deck! The benches are indeed impressive. Where did you get the bench brackets?

Excellent work and a very nice place. Thanks for the great pics !

Looks awesome. Want to come build one for me?

Thanx for the positive feedback, much appreciated. I learned everything I know about ponds here on PB!

Canyoncreek – The water level in my pond seems to mirror the water level in other groundwater ponds in the area, so I have always regarded the fluctuations as typical. I would love to have a stationary dock, but for easy and safe ingress and egress of boats, I think a floating section is a must.

Djstauder – The bench brackets are marketed under several trade names, these were by 2x4 Basics and I got them at Lowes (special order) for about $27 per pair.

Mdodson461 – I’d love to come to Arkansas and make sawdust and my wife says I can, just as soon as I finish the things her list. This is a list I’ve been working on for nearly 45 years and can’t seem to make any headway.

2Old

2Old2Soon,
Perhaps you missed my suggestion. I agree, the safest way in and out of the boat is to have it floating next to a floating section of dock so that their heights are always similar. However my point was that your pond goes up and down significantly as do the other ground water ponds in your area. This is why you need the floating section to be on a hinge. The floating section could be close to horizontal and close to the plan of the fixed section when water is high, or at almost a 40 degree angle downwards when the level is very low (thus the raised horizontal treads you designed in the down part of the gangplank to prevent slipping)

My thought was, with the right application of soilfloc all the other ground water ponds around you would go up and down and yours would stay full to the brim. This means that your floating section would still be very useful to allow for the little natural fluctuation of the pond from evaporation and big rain events, but for the most part, folks walking on to that section would be on level ground all the time. No reason your pond has to go up and down anymore like it does now. The angle of the gangway looks very steep in one of those pictures.

It is beautiful and functional just the way it is if this is the way it works best for you.

Just a thought though...

FWIW I think TJ posted the Soilfloc manufacturer is not recommending its use on water table ponds. Hopefully, TJ will see this post and clarify.

Edit: The benches are great! The older I get, the more I like benches! Curious, why didn't you put hand rails on the ramp? Just a suggestion...old farts like me also love hand rails, especially on steep ramps.

Great work and wonderful property there.

If you really wanted to you could put a 2X8 on the end of your gang way and back bevel so you can close up the gap that is there in low water levels. Back bevel the last plank on the fixed dock as well so it will not bind up.


I am looking at 20"s of snow on my dock right now. Wish I was sitting on your dock with a Budweiser or two or three...

Cheers Don.

Consider railing on the gangway. I added mine after two different people fell off.

2O2S,
Wow, that's first class...I like the way you incorporated the existing dock in with the new addition. Does your water level stay up normally? I can tell by the grass line on the bank where full pool normally is. Looks like a lot of thought went into the addition. Love the bench seating. Must've been a fun project.

I’ll read up on soilfloc to learn more about it, thanx.

I plan to add railings on the gangway, just ran out of time on this trip. I also plan to add some of the same benches on the floating portion too.

Yep, this was great fun, added the 16’ extension in late Oct the railings and benches in early Dec, perfect weather, decent tunes and cold beer. Of course, all my projects cost twice as much and take twice as long anymore.

Thanx again for the kind words.

2O2S

Just to clarify, Aquaben has never intimated there are any pond leak scenarios which would serve to challenge the product's efficacy, it was just my personal opinion urging caution as I am trying to look out for my PB family. Does that make sense? Just being cautious...

I believe Jeff [Canyon] has a water table pond, and the Soilfloc sealed his pond like a bathtub. Jeff please correct me if necessary, I don't want to misrepresent your scenario.

2Old - great looking pond and awesome dock project, I'm impressed! If you ever have any questions regarding Soilfloc feel free to ping me, I am here to help address questions and provide options for solutions. Happy to help!

Thanks for the clarification TJ. I think I'll wait a while until more folks get some experience with water table ponds before I try it on mine. My concern would be the scenario when the water table could be higher than the pond level, say during extended times of little rain, and the ground water pressure is acting to push the soilfloc out of the pond sides/bottom into the pond.

Bill, I agree, and still think the pushing and pulling of a ground water or spring fed pond would not be an ideal candidate for Soilfloc, and I maintain that position whenever I consult with PB Forum members because I err on the side of caution and want to carefully manage expectations.

TJ, thanks for weighing in and thanks for being so fair and balanced in your offers to help.

I would say that everyone has to have a little willingness to overlook a shortfall when using the soilfloc since there is no real life guarantees and your mileage may vary...

In my pond the fluctuation was an inch a day. I felt that I had NO springs and no active water pumping in and out. Mine was the typical slow decrease as water found its way down through the permeable bottom. I had no way of knowing if there was one area (say the vein of sand they hit when digging the pond where they knew water was coming up from the ground) or if the whole pond bottom and the sides slowly let the water back into the ground.

All I know is that one application made my water stay in place far better than I had dared to hope or plan on.

So if 2old2soon knows that he has active pumping springs or that the pond 'bowl' is situated so far below the typical water table that there could be a significant head of pressure pushing up through the bottom then he may indeed not get the same great success. However I would say that if he treated at the ideal time when his pond was brimming full, the hydraulic pressure would force a good heavy application of soilfloc down into any area where the water was flowing in. Only an active spring I think (my opinion) would push that product back out.

Since those of us with groundwater ponds are gearing up for the constant ebb and flow, we just can't wrap our heads around a scenario where the pond might just always be at the same level (minus any evaporation - minimal). But, in 9 out of 10 cases that is the result you get if you apply it correctly.

We skated on our pond again last night probably for the last time as we have 50 degrees and rain this weekend. By this time in prior years, the pond would have dropped 3 feet and the edges would be like a bowl that the skateboarders use. I was standing at the edge of the pond last night after everyone had gone and was just marveling how BIG the pond had stayed this year. If it dropped, maybe it dropped an inch. You can't notice unless you flood the pond and then you notice the water you sprayed up by the edge tends to roll back down at you for a little bit due to the slight drop.

Not only do we have a much nicer pond for skating (bigger, handles bigger crowds) but we have not lost any noticeable amount of water this year. Just an amazing thing to think that an application effort taking only 3 hours, of 2 kinds of harmless powder sealed it up so well.

FWIW, I hope to use my remaining small supply of soilfloc by doing a 2nd application in spring to make sure I'm good. But I really don't think it really would be needed.

Judging by the pictures, I think 2old would be tickled to keep his pond at high water mark as the size would greatly be increased.

If you need more input, ping TJ, he helped me through it and for that I'm very thankful.

Of course there are concerns about having a very well-sealed pond. When the big rains come you have to have some place to go with the water since your pond is already full all the time! (for the first time you start to seriously consider where your overflow is going to be...) Since I don't have a dam I don't have a spillway, now for the first time I'm considering how to direct overflow come the spring rains.

Good post Jeff, thanks for sharing. It's incredibly rewarding to hear the pond is performing to your expectations - grateful I could be a part of the solution. You'll be trapping crayfish soon if you get some of this heatwave we're enjoying!

TJ,

Is there a downside of trying it and it not working other than loss of the investment?

No, but I loathe losing...at anything!

On the positive side - I've worked on 28 projects over the past 10 months now, and 26 have resulted in at least a 50% reduction in seepage rates - which blew my expectations away. For the "2" that didn't have the results we'd hoped for [floating product/course grind C], they ended up happy with the final resolution. So far the company has been great with which to work, and the product has stood on it's own merits. I'm lucky I get to meet new friends every week throughout the country and be a part of a solution to their problems. Leaking ponds suck, I know first hand, and helping make dreams come true is vastly gratifying. Grateful for the opportunity to work with so many PB family members - we are a special breed.