For Soilfloc, ping TJ, he is always willing to help.
FWIW, if I understand correctly, you can till in Soilfloc into the dry soils of the pond. Once you get rain, it will swell and clog in place if it doesn't wash out. I would assume a combination of tilling, then laying down something to prevent erosion or even seeding it with ryegrass or similar to keep everything put until it fills.
Well good news and bad news... we had a good amount of rain and saturation the first week of February. The water level rose 6" and got me pretty excited. It's been cold with some light snow ever since and the water level has lost about 3" of the gain. It sure is heck not hot enough to evaporate that fast and must be leaching worse than I thought.
Does anyone know how I can get I touch with " TJ"? Second, does anyone know of an expert in Ohio I get can onsite for a thorough evaluation and help plan the next steps? Third have any of you had issues like this get any recourse from your contractor?
Give TJ a shout. I'd recommend the Soilfloc, he can help with application. In any case I'd recommend cleaning all the cover out from inside the pond so the bottom is clean before applying it, that way it can get to the whole pond bottom. Then put the cover (habitat) back in the pond. I know, I know, a PITA.
Did the NRCS give you any idea on how many acres of watershed feeds the pond? It just sounds like the pond isn't sealed and any water that gets in there leaks out, but that is an observation from here, not on-site.
You will also need to put down erosion matting to stop erosion. Look for erosion mat that is 100% organic, with jute fibers and not plastic mesh/netting. The plastic mesh/netting, when under water can act as a gill net, catching a lot of fish. It won't decompose like the jute erosion mat. The erosion mat is needed so the soilfloc isn't washed into the pond as it fills, causing a potential leak where the soil is eroded away.
A big thanks to TJ for spending some time to talk about my current situation. I'm weighing all of the options at the moment to determine the best course of action.
The hardest part is getting good data on rainfall and drawdown because I am not on-site regularly.
Happy to help, amigo - that's my favorite part of being a Pond Boss volunteer - and also expanding my PB family. Here anytime to assist, you know how to find me.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
The last hard rain had given me a nice bump, but still not back to the high water level last year. 1.60" total over 48hrs February 28th through March 1st. The pond level subsequently rose 15". This was after the snow was melted at gone. I also discovered today that minnows survived the winter and have already spawned in the last week or so.
Well, it's been about 3 months since my last update. Spring rains came and went the pond is in worse condition than when we finished a year ago.
The water level has never risen to the level it was last year (5-6 feet deep) after it was finished and tracked in. We just added dye finally and will see if it's leaking out the dam or not. The contractor who did the work believes is that the soil is not just sandy, but 1/3 or more of the bottom is sandstone and that we are leeching/leaking through a seam. To say this project has been a nightmare thus far is an understatement.
Needless to say, the hopes of getting married this October on the dock with a full pond are nearing zero.
At this point, I'm likely to be using a combination of the following products.
Bulk blue clay material used in landfills for capping Sodium Bentonite 2lbs-4lbs per square foot Soil Floc 16-32 units
I've got another question for you experts.... the saga continues
Last year, my contractor was "spreading out" the rest of the muck to dry and repack he mentioned that the more he worked an area on the bottom, the wetter it got. His dozer was floating on muck bottom and nearly got stuck. We had a dry so he would stay off and wait for it to crust over and work it again. It never did fully dry before the rains started.
I spoke with yet another pond consultant yesterday and explained my situation. They mentioned the likely reason is that he was pumping up groundwater through the area that is not stabilized. Thus a likely source of my leak. The recommendation I received is to pack the area with stone to stabilize it before applying any kind of sealer (clay, bentonite etc) otherwise it will continue to leak. How much and how thick is the big question.
The groundwater issue makes sense because my property and region of the state have a large makeup of sand and sandstone. The water table rises and falls quickly because of a fractured subgrade.
Sorry about your troubles. A stony bottom is never a good thing, and usually requires a good, thick layer of clay put down in lifts and compacted to stop it from leaking. One crack in that rock could be connected to many others down below.
Have you considered instead a large rubber liner? It may be an expensive initial investment, but almost guarantees the pond will hold water.
Sorry about your troubles. A stony bottom is never a good thing, and usually requires a good, thick layer of clay put down in lifts and compacted to stop it from leaking. One crack in that rock could be connected to many others down below.
Have you considered instead a large rubber liner? It may be an expensive initial investment but almost guarantees the pond will hold water.
I came to that conclusion and have all the costs for a liner. I was ready to buy a liner at a cost of over $60k installed but met with one more contractor in my area that builds ponds locally out of complete chance. (or a prayer if you ask my soon to be wife) He convinced me to try and dig out the area we think is the problem in the bottom and re-pack with some good material I found on my property. The cost for this is pretty reasonable for what is planning to do, but this outfit has mine-sized earth moving equipment at the site I visited.
We will also be cake layering polymer as we build up the area and then pull a final coat on the entire bottom surface.
My previous contractor relied on me to figure out what the problem is and how to fix it, not his expertise or help from a qualified source. I fired him and now have to deal with those consequences.
It's been a month since Contractor #2 has left the premises. He determined that the pond was leaking through a layer of old pond junk material that was under the new dam and never removed. We put in a new much larger and deeper core trench in front of the dam, repacked and feathered in. 300 series machines and rock trucks make for quick work.
We raised the bottom of the "problem area, 15k square feet" by 2ft and I applied 4x the recommended dosage of soil floc polymer on top covering about 20k square feet. No sooner did the deep end get completed and we had a rain event that created a pool. They got finished and we had about 1.5" drop from hurricane Ida. Just ten miles south of me got 6 inches of rain.
After a month, we are holding the same amount of water except for a little loss from evaporation.
If ya'll don't mind, send some water my way to SE Ohio.
That's good news. I hear you on the rain woes. It's been so dry here that the grass is now brown. I've lost around 4" from a stock tank that I use as a small ornamental pond just due to evaporation.
So I've been praying for water since the reconstruction has completed on August 16th, 2021. I was hoping (with little chance) we would be half full by our wedding day. (10/16)
The pond is still holding and my yardstick indicated +2" from at the current location. We turned on the garden hose while I got to work rebuilding a makeshift dam on a small creek 500 feet away. The little reservoir I created would hold about 1500 gallons and only take 22 minutes to empty. It refills at 10gpm with dry conditions. Well, between the garden hose and my pump, I increased the water level 5" to +7" on my yardstick by Friday morning.
Mind you our wedding is Saturday. By 4pm Friday afternoon, a storm blew in and rained steadily for several hours. I checked my reservoir and it breached the top of my dam and was able to run the pump well into the night. When I shut it down, it was 12:30 in the morning. I had to save some energy for the wedding day.
Wedding day, the clouds parted early and dried out the yard quickly with a nice warm breeze. The yardstick was now at +14.5 inches. That increase overnight was substantial. It's been dry up until yesterday but I can see with my pond cams, it's holding and rising ever so slowly with the intermittent rains.
Between a new core trench and a copious amount of soil floc, I'm super happy with the results so far and the deep end is now past 4 feet. The real test will be from the hydraulic pressure as the volume gets closer to full pool. I've estimated we are only 12% full (400k gallons), but zero loss.
Well, my pond is ever so slowly moving in the right direction. My yard stick measured an additional 4.5" since I was here mid-October. I should be able to add 6" while I'm here for 10 days and surpass 5ft of depth. Not bad for starting with a dry pond during the driest part of the year (August - November).
Thursday's forecast is calling or rain so I hoping to take advantage with my pump.
I was able to add 11 inches of water the pond in the last 10 days. The deepest area in front of the dock is beyond 5 ft. I've estimated were are about 20% full or 600k gallons and holding. I'm praying for a really wet winter.
Well, it's time for Mother Nature to step up her game. I had to pump away for the season with the freezing nights. Please send any and all the rain and snow my direction. We're still short about 2.7 million gallons.
Congrats...sounds and looks like you got it figured out. I do not have a good aerial of my pond other than Google earth, but your shape and size looks very similar (pic attached, I think). What part of OH?
Congrats...sounds and looks like you got it figured out. I do not have a good aerial of my pond other than Google earth, but your shape and size looks very similar (pic attached, I think). What part of OH?
Dustin
Thanks Dustin. I'll be a lot more comfortable with the project once the pond gets to 3/4 full, but she is holding well so far. I'm SE Ohio by the way.
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