Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam pond dam slippage

Hi,
My husband built our pond about 10 months ago. It is about 1/2 acre in size and 20 feet deep. The dam is large. When it was finished it was wide enough to ride a full size pick up truck across the top of it. There was some slippage during the summer and winter, but is didn't seem significant. So we just filled in the cracks with additional soil. Over this spring there is a significant part around the middle of the dam that drops down enough that we would no longer consider driving a vechicle across it. How can we fix this? Should we add some rock and then top soil to the area so it is level again? Thanks for your help.

Shirley

I built my pond (2 acre) 2 years ago. It would fill up to the overflow pipe but would drop around a foot in the next week or so. It continued to do this for about a year. Some of the drop in water level I attribute to water saturating the surrounding dry soil and some of the drop to tha attage that "all ponds leak". After 2 years the water level does not drop more than an inch after a good rain. Some things seem to fix themselves over time.

As for the dam, I would have the person who built your pond come back to check his work and re level the top. I would not put gravel on the dam (it will not hold water) but would have the pond contractor use his bulldoser to reshape the dam and refill the sunken area with the approiate clay/soil mixture.

I hope this helps

Don Stuart

Shirley,
When dirt slips, there's a reason. Either the slopes are too steep, soils weren't compacted properly, or soils are the wrong kinds for a dam. Too much clay in a dam creates cracks, which can lead to sloughing. Too little clay leads to leaks, and poorly compacted soils settle. So, my vote is to bring back the earthmover, or better yet, find another one for a second opinion on site. Seek professional help, and then make the best decision.