Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations New Pond...Soaking in and sealing or Leaking?

Hello,
I had a new pond built 2 weeks ago...we had some good rains and the pond filled to about 6 feet in the first week; however, watching it this 2nd week it has dropped about a foot. My question is whether this sounds like a soak-in process or is could this pond be leaking?

I live in Southern Indiana and the soil here has a lot of clay, but I do see some charcoal gray color in one area of the pond wall that is not clay. The contractor I hired has an amazing reputation, but I wonder if I should be concerned at this point and contact him.

So, what do you think...Is this a soak/seal water loss in my new pond or is it leaking?

Thanks for your thoughts!
Renee

It is most likely wicking back into the bank. If it keeps dropping, it is a leak. I would just keep an eye on it.

I'm agreeing with Dave. If it still does that in a few weeks, then it's definately a leak. If it drops and stops, it most likely stopped once it got below the leak.

Thanks for your replies. Today is exactly 2 weeks since the pond was built, so I will watch it a few more weeks & see what it does. As a newbie I just don't know what is "normal" and what is something to be concerned about, so thanks for your help.

Keep in mind that each pond is different and normal can be like shooting at a moving target.

Keep in mind that it is summer and you will have evaporation to factor in. What kind of source water do you have?

oasis, I'm seeing roughly 1" to 2" evaporation per week in my two ponds that I have near the house. They have no leakage, they are Rubbermaid stock tanks sunk into the ground. In my large pond, I am seeing 4" water level drop per week if there is no rain and I don't run the well into the pond. That is caused by seepage - the pond was dug in sand and it varies in water level according to the groundwater of I don't artifically keep the level up with the well. I am losing approx. 20 to 25 gpm out of that pond.

Thanks y'all for your responses. I had the pond contractor stop by and he feels it is a wicking in process at this point. I'll take your advice and watch it a few weeks.
I have mostly rain collection and just a little surface run off.

It's been super-hot here and virtually no rain - my pond is at least 3 feet down and looks terrible. Of course, I did a thorough inspection to see if I had any kind of leak because that's the prudent thing to do but...no evidence of any leakage.

The only "good" part about it is that it has looked that way before during similar weather conditions and it has always recovered.

I know that has nothing to do with your new pond but I just wanted to offer some perspective that sometimes, in the heat of the summer, ponds just don't look like they're holding water. The wicking sounds logical and I think every pond owner thinks they've got a leak at some point when the water levels aren't where they want them to be.

Ponds try your patience and teach you patience - that's the lesson I've been learning.

Best of luck to you and congratulations!