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#45775 10/31/03 07:08 PM
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I had a 2 acre pond built last fall. The soil and water folks came out and gave the site their qualified blessing. We ran into some gravel digging the test holes, but it was a couple of feet deeper then our pond bottom. After a hard rain fills the pond to two or three feet, it will lose several inches a day until I have about six inches of water and then it stops leaking. My builder says that I should be patient, but I am skeptical that a pond that is losing that much water will ever seal itself.
Sure had a lot of water run in and out this summer.
Should I wait awhile or start looking at other solutions?

#45776 10/31/03 11:22 PM
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"...about six inches of water then it stops leaking" The six inches, does that mean that there is 6" total depth left in the bottom OR the pond tops off, water level drops a couple inches a day and once 6" has been lost the water level stabilizes???


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#45777 11/01/03 07:25 PM
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six inches of water left! A mud whole.....

#45778 11/02/03 09:36 AM
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Longview, if it's a year old now, I would be concerned. I'm just relating this to my pond that filling, I'm not an expert. I built my pond in mid summer in Texas (brutal heat and exaporation) We've had limited rain at best, but I've seen enough to know you should be holding more water than 6 inches. I went through July and August with no rain, lost approx. 1 foot a month. I am losing a lot of water to first time saturation, but once the level is stable, the evaporation is slow. September rains brougt it to about 4 feet deep, since then no rain and the milder temps have dropped it about 6 inches a month.

#45779 11/02/03 04:18 PM
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There is a real old 1 acre pond on my place. It has always leaked, especially from the back of the dam. Some folks have recommended the spreading of Bentonite. Maybe that would help, although I have not yet tried that. Anyone know how much to apply? The botton of the pond and the dam are both mostly sand.

#45780 11/02/03 05:32 PM
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first off,i don't have alot of faith in any thing the ohio soil and water people say about ponds...when the pond was dug out in the deepest part , what was hit there rocks , shale , sand , clay ?


i only wanted to have some fun
#45781 11/02/03 08:24 PM
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If you have not figured it out by now, you have a major problem. Ponds that leak, typically leak down from full capacity about 2 to 3 feet or 4 feet max and then the water level stabilizes. This indicates that the water is seeping out somewhere in the upper zone probably due to an undiscovered drain tile, tree roots, or porus soils etc that are close to the side walls.

But in your case, when the pond leaks totally down to only 6" total depth then this means your pond bottom is not adequately packed, or a porus soil/gravel vein is near or close (closer than the expected 2ft) to at least some area or areas of the pond's bottom. Your water is obviously leaking out the pond bottom which it rearly does if a thick layer of good hard compacted clay composes the pond's bottom.

Your contractor/pond builder did a poor job since he knew that gravel/sand veins were close to the pond bottom, the contractor should have taken extra precautions in packing the pond floor. Maybe even spread betonite across the entire bottom worked it into the basin and then compacted. You need to see if he "stands behind" his work and what it would take to get him back to fix or repair the "leaky hole". For comparison, you should also get an estimate from another contractor for this fix.

About the only way I know to fix this problem is to drain it, and excavate with a backhoe or small dozer the bottom deeper looking for sandy or loose soils that are relatively close to the bottom. A backhoe may have to dig test holes in the bottom looking for lose soils and the depth of good clay which may not exist in your case. If no suitable clay is below the existing bottom, then bentonite should be worked evenly into the bottom and compacted. Then as insurance, I would then haul & spread at least another 12" of good clay into the bottom and compact it in layers with sheepfoot roller. It would not hurt to add another layer of betonite to the new bottom top layer and compact the crap out of it again. Betonite if mixed into the soil and compacted properly will work well in your case because it will always be covered with water and the seal will be maintained and cannot dry out. Betonite is less successful when sealing the upper side walls of a pond due to evaporation and chances of dry out & soil cracking increase.

Betonite is a special type of powdered clay that swells to about 10 times its size when wet. This consolidates the soil-clay mix and when compacted forms a water tight seal as long as the "seal" remains wet.

Even after doing this there is no guarantee that when refilled a leak will not occur somewhere in the side walls where sand/gravel/tree roots/ tile are close the the basin walls. Sometimes the cost of fixing a "leaky" pond can be as much or more that the original construction cost. This is why it is important to get it done properly by a knowledgable contractor with lots of experience and a proven track record the first time.


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#45782 11/02/03 10:13 PM
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Bill Cody, I have seen the word "tile" used several times and you mentioned it above when you referred to "drain tile" What is tile in the context of a pond?

#45783 11/03/03 07:06 AM
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Thanks for all of your comments. Dave's question about tile causes me to add a little more information that I didn't include in my original posting. After the spring thaw, the pond filled with about 3 feet of water. I was ready to order my fish! It all drained out in about two weeks and I discovered that the contractor had left a drain tile (we built the tile in a ravine in an old corn field) which apparently went all the way under the dam keyway! Water was running through the drain and under the dam. He excavated in front of the dam and behind it and packed the soil in mechanically on both sides. He left the backside open so that we could be sure that there was no leakage through or around the old tile. It appears to me that this leak was repaired, although I am concerned with the longterm affect of this type of repair -like that is my only problem! I just wanted to add this to the mix for your comments............

#45784 11/03/03 11:20 AM
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Looking at your posts makes me count me blessings. Our 1 1/2 acre pond was completed During the second week in July after having to wait almost a year for enough dry weather. It filled to the over flow point on Labor day and water has been spilling through the spillway ever since. We were lucky to have clay as far as they could dig after the first 3 feet of top soil was removed. It made for a difficult time with all the wet weather on the east coast since last fall. I had 2 feet of water that would not go away and we finally had to pump it out to finish the project. And I complained about not getting the job done! Now I know I shouldn't have. Good luck. Sounds like the solutions offered could get pretty expensive.

#45785 11/03/03 10:13 PM
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To Dave & all interested: Tile or drain tile are agricultural drainage tile. Some areas of the country use them on farms more than others. Modern drain tile are made of ribbed tubular plastic with perforations to allow soil water to enter the tile and then be drained into a header tile or directly into a ditch. Old style drain tile were made of clay or cement (cylinders of various dia abt 16" long) that were laid underground (5' to 6' deep) end to end to drain water out of the subsoil in farm fields. Many of the dug ponds in agricultural areas are built in areas where drain tile had been previoulsy laid in long "strings". A "string" of tile near the pond wall will drain water away from the pond. Water can seep into the tile through soil from as far away as 20 to 30 ft. If an unknown tile string is relatively close to a pond wall the tile will draw waterout of the pond down to the level of the tile string then the seepage or water loss seems to stop and stabilize there.


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#45786 11/03/03 10:50 PM
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I have sealed many ponds using sand wash that you can get from your local sand pit. It should be applied at least8-12" thick and knitted into pond bed and banks up to the top deck.
Where water flows in should be covered with filter fabric and covered with stone to prevent leakage at this point. It does work and well with pond depths up to 20 feet.


Scott Trava
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Returning Catskill Waters To A Simpler Time
EST. 1923
#45787 11/04/03 11:27 AM
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Scott, what is sand wash? Is it a clay particulate?
Robert B

longview #531459 03/03/21 09:01 PM
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Groundwater problem. We built a 3/4 acre pond a year ago. During digging, we hit water. Took pics during construction so we know where we hit water. Thought it was a spring, but turned out to be the water table. Spring rains filled it and it held most of the summer. Rains stopped, we hit a drought and the water fell about 3’. No leaks anywhere along the dam, I think the falling groundwater has sucked water out of it. Would bentonite be a good fix? Is it even possible to “isolate” a pond from the ground water table? Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated. Thanks!

KarlZ #531499 03/05/21 12:15 AM
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Originally Posted by KarlZ
Groundwater problem. We built a 3/4 acre pond a year ago. During digging, we hit water. Took pics during construction so we know where we hit water. Thought it was a spring, but turned out to be the water table. Spring rains filled it and it held most of the summer. Rains stopped, we hit a drought and the water fell about 3’. No leaks anywhere along the dam, I think the falling groundwater has sucked water out of it. Would bentonite be a good fix? Is it even possible to “isolate” a pond from the ground water table? Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated. Thanks!

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