Just got back the soil report and seems our soil is pretty good, except I'm concerned the moisture % is to high. The moisture of the clay in our five samples goes from 17%-25%. Attached is one of the sample reports.
Is 25% to wet to use for the core trench? Will a sheepsfoot roller be able to work with this?
I am not a construction expert, but those values aren't an innate characteristic of your soil. The moisture value is just a "snapshot" of your current moisture conditions.
However, those figures DO actually sound about right for optimal compaction. (Generally, the higher the clay content, the higher the moisture content required for optimal compaction.)
You can test it yourself. Grab a sample of your material. Can you make a cohesive ball? If so, then good moisture content.
Can you roll out a pencil of material that does not break up? Then good moisture and good clay content.
When you actually start construction, the moisture content is going to change! Once you dig out your subsoil material and start moving it to the dam, it will begin to dry out. As soon as you get a rain that soaks your core trench, it will be too wet.
You will have to adapt to conditions during construction. However, it is almost always easier to work when it is dry and then add water as needed. Working during a rainy period on wet clay will cost you lots of time and money. (And may make it impossible to compact the core trench.)
I am curious about the numbers in your report, but I don't think anybody can read it. It is too small and then too blurry when enlarged. The Attachment Manager and its 2MB limit sucks for photos. It is better to use a photo-sharing site and post the link to your photo. Even better, copy the BBCode for your image and paste it into your message so that it appears in-line and full size.
A pdf will probably work better with the Attachment Manager.
I created a share file in which you can view the report. This isn't the complete report with their recommendations (but verbally they said everything looks pretty decent). Side note: it's known two logs have sand it them and that was already known before we took samples. They are behind the dam and probably wont be touched.
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