Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Makeing old pond bigger

Hello guy's Ive been reading and enjoying the site for sometime,Great site and thanks,Anyway here is what i have going on,I started out with a small pond that was probably about 25 to 30 years old , I have been working on makeing this pond bigger for the last 2 years on and off.Selling a little and useing the nieghbors backhoe .Then I put add in local papper and got a guy that wanted the dirt and said he would dig the pond for the dirt, all good he has done a pretty good job and is not finished yet,I have plenty of runnoff and the pond has filled up about three times this last summer,I think my pond is about an acre maybe a little more.What i want to get some opinons on was it wont hold the water when it fills and the longest it has ever held was for 15 days ,I have watched this pond fill up in about 5 hours before and is so pretty theres nothing like it,but i cant figure out where the water is going ,I will post some pictures take a look any advise would be appreciated thanks guy's

<a href="http://s912.photobucket.com/albums/ac324/sack21/?action=view¤t=pondnewest012.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac324/sack21/pondnewest012.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Sack21,
Welcome to the site. I'm no pro but I did just dig my pond out also. I have alot of Clay in my area. Not sure how your dirt is but i think Bentonite might help. You'll get a lot of help from the pro's on this site. Hang on and they'll be chiming in shortly I'm sure.

There is a few pictures of my little project ,I am not done digging yet but i would swear there's a underground creek running through this Water allmost goes out as fast as it goes in. Thanks Chip

Hello Chip and welcome to Pond Boss. Getting dirt to hold water can be tricky business. In your other thread I noticed that you thought that you had plenty of clay in your soil...



Was the clay used to create a liner the pond? My understanding is that they clay/soil mix needs to be done properly in order to retain water.

Did the compaction ever occur?

Hang on and one of the folks that actually know what they are talking about should be along to discuss this with you.

Thanks Jeff we removed the topsoil and have dug down about 20 feet to where he thought he had good clay,And no it hasnt been compacted we have somemore diggin to do, maybe Iam just getting in hurry but the water sure does drain out fast and thats alot of water.I have quite a bit of digging left just get worried that it wont hold, But i guess thats the way it goes,Just dont want to end up with big hole and have to advertise for fill.thanks

Well as I said I'm no expert but I think it's too early in the game for you to be overly worried about holding water. Without the proper mixing of clay/soil and without the proper compaction I would expect that water would drain rather quickly depending upon soil type.

Bill Cody posted something to the effect that "You dig a hole. You build a pond." They are two very different things. I would consider having a pond builder visit your site to discuss soil mix, compaction, pond topography, shore line slope, etc, before you get a lot further into the project.

Keep posting and keep asking questions, that is what this site is all about. And once again wait for one of the experts to look at your photos and give you proper feedback.

Thax jeff