Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Another Leaking Pond

I have a 1 year old 1/2 acre pond avg depth 5ft and max depth 15ft. Has a good clay/shell liner since there is no shortage here in Oklahoma. The only place where the clay barrier would be questionable would be on top of the dam. The reason why I say this is because the excavator removed all of the top soil before the pond was dug and then moved it back over the top of the dam when he was done. This was real nice since I had grass almost completly covering it within a month or so. Ok...here is my issue...It filled within 15'' of the bottom of the drain pipe (within 36'' of the top of the dam) and then started going down at about 1/4'' per day. Now it has been hard to tell what is going on beacuse of the rainfall but I have notice small mud puddles in the ditch behind the dam on 'dry days'. The water in the mud puddles is not moving but seems to be coming from the pond and I can't see where it is coming from, it is just there. I can't see how the water would go from the pond to the ditch without running down the sides of the dam. And the ditch is in a area that was not excavated.

What to do about the leak? Wait and see if it seals itself?

Also, I want to add some gypsum to clear the water but I'm afraid that it might keep the leak from sealing itself. Should I go ahead and put the gysum in or fix the leak first or does it not matter?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You may not have a leak. 1/4 in. per day is pretty minor, especially for a new pond. Wait until summer when it stops raining. If you think about it, the rain that falls on the back of the dam is going to leach down into the dirt or clay; then run out the back.

Mine does that. During the summer, I don't have any water behind the dam. But if and when it rains, it looks like a leak.

thanks Dave. What you said is somewhat close to what the excavator told me yesterday when I called him. He said wait till mid July or after we have had a few dry weeks and I will know for sure.

How about the gypsum question? Would adding it impact a leak if I have one? I want to start working on clearing the water but dont want to make the leak worse (if I have one).

I wouldn't add gypsum yet. If you have had a lot of rain, it can have an effect on water clarity. I would PERSONALLY wait and keep an eye on it. I'm not aware of any way that gypsum would effect a leak but I try to stay from all chemicals whenever possible.

Cheezy, what is wrong with your water; muddy, greyish, etc.? Before I started treating, I'd identify the problem and why it exists.

The water is somewhat a greyish brown color with only 2-3 inches of visibility. No vegitation except for the grass which has grown down the bank. All the tests that I have ran via a simple pool testing kit show the water to be good...low to no chlorine, 7.8 ph, total alkilinity was like 40ppm. I should mention that I did fill the pond with alot of tap water which was about 1/4 or less of the total volume.

So far I have done a few things. One, I put a gallon of the pond water in a jar and let it sit for a few days with no change. Two, I took another gallon of pond water and mixed in a gypsum powder (2 table spoons) and let it sit for a few days, no change. At this point I'm even wondering if gypsum will work or I'm using the wrong kind. It took weeks to locate it in a power form. What I tested was a product called SOF-N-Soil.

thanks

Cheezy, Look at the threads about Water Quality and Muddy Water, then take a look at Bill Morris's post, I think under Adjusting Fish Populations, about needing forage now that the worst is over. Be damned careful about the type of chemicals that you add to your water.

Thanks Dave. I will make sure I check out the references you listed.