Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Testing soil question

Currently evaluating the soil on the property we purchased.

If I do the test where you fill a glass jar with soil half way and then filling with water. Shake/stir it until it is all mixxed together and allow it to settle out. I end up with about 25% of clay on the top.

BUT, if I do the soil ball into a jar of water over night I need up with flat pancake.

Will this soil hold water?

I guess I need to do the drill holes in the bottom of a bucket test yet too.

But wanted to know why the first two tests give different results.

Thanks.

Update: In the process of doing a water holding test. Cut a strip into the bottom of one of the new plastic coffee cans. Filled about 6" of soil tamped it with a brick, and then filled it with water. So far so go, will see what 24 hours does.

The one nice thing about the making a slurry and letting it sit, is the clay forms at the top and you can spoon some of it out and examine it, mold it, let it dry out, and it is 100% clay.

I found it interesting that in two different areas on our property I ended up with two completely different looking clays. The one is basicly tan, where the other is chocolate dark brown. Is there a way to identify clays by color?

Update again: No replies, yet but I guess I have more information.

My coffee can did not leak a drop overnight. So I guess it is safe to say, my soil should hold water if properly compacted.

So I guess the ball of soil into water, only tells you that you do not have 100% clay. If you had 100% why would you need to test it.

Summary to me anyways. Is that is a worthless test. Anybody agree with me?

What you are looking for is compaction of the soil to see if you have a good site to build a pond?If I were you I would contact water and soil conservation and they will come out to site where you would like to build your pond and tell you the probability of your desires. The service is free. I had it done for my pond. I had a backehoe dig some testholes about 6 and they said that the soil was great. You want clay. Hope that this will help you with your situation.

The experts don't recommend 100% clay. If/when the water level drops, a 100% dam will dry out and crack. I've seen various percentages recommended. Mike Otto once said to pick up the soil when wet and make it into a ball. Throw it against the side of a metal building or dozer or ? and if it sticks, it will make a dam.

Go here

http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/WebSoilSurvey.aspx

Was all over that months ago, while the ground was frozen. If I would have lived by that data, a pond would have been a NO GO.

BUT, I am really excited about how well 6" of compacted soil holds water in that coffee can with most of the bottom out of it. Don't think I've lost a drop. To me that is much better then those general soil surveys.

Now, I just need to try to figure out how large I can make the pond and get it to fill. Guess I can always put in a wind mill and let it pump water all the time. Anybody doing that?

What does your soil survey say?

Nutty,
We pump water from a windmill to one of our ponds, and it works well for keeping the water level relatively consistent during the hot (and sometimes dry) Texas summers. However, we have the water splashing on rocks as it moves down a slight slope and into the pond in order to oxygenate it a little. Water straight out of a well lacks the proper amount oxygen needed for the pond, so that may be something you want to consider.

Various names for the soils but they all fall into the somewhat usable department. When I talked to the NCSS, they where not all that encouraging given the amount of sand mixed in, but also said you have to do your own test, given the generalities of the maps.

Basicly the soil is a mix of everything, I do not (or have not found it) "clay" soil or soil with 50% or more clay. But the stuff does appear to hold water if compacted. Well there is water everywhere around here and we are at ZERO percip to evap maybe even -2 inches depending on where you are in the county.

Gonna keep it an option if I have to, hope I can avoid it, because the expense, work, noise, and having something mechanical around the pond. Right now, it appears, like you are in the middle of no where, can not see a farm, powerline, nothing. Really hope to keep it that way.

I would run the water down the hill, over rocks and into a gravel screen, to try to help remove some of the iron we have in our water here too before it went in.

I'd be careful. The soil surveys are more accurate than they are generally given credit for.

Editing this to clarify that I think the error in the soil maps has more to do with the location of the boundaries between soil types (due to the number of samples taken)as opposed to the type of soil, what it is composed of, and what limitations it has. I'm not a nuttygambler, but I'm sure you can make it work by applying the appropriate planning and a sufficient number of $.