The home we purchased almost a year ago has about a 1/2 acre pond in the back that was installed about 30 years ago. When we took over the pond was mostly drained except for about 4' in the deepest section of the pond, which I figure is 9'-10' deep when full. It has an existing synthetic liner in it that is damaged due to vegetation and tree growth, UV exposure, etc. The pond water surface area is about 19,300 SF. There is a small island in the pond, the SF accounts for that.
Before winter I turned the well pump on to fill the pond up a bit to see if it would hold water or not. I filled it to the top of the fill pipe and then waited. Over the course of 10 days I figured I was losing about 1" per day. After doing some research on the USDA soils report website, I found that this area has silty loam with a 19.4% clay rating. I have been looking into my options to try and fix this up and was originally thinking to do a clay liner, but that sounds like it will be much more expensive than I originally expected. I've since been doing some research on the Soilfloc, sodium bentonite, or replacement synthetic liner. I was hoping this would be a project I could tackle myself over time to help save costs, and I'm pretty capable.
Soilfloc: I've heard mixed results with the Soilfloc, and after reading some of the comments it sounds like this clear gel just sits on the bottom of the pond? Would this even be a realistic repair approach to my pond since I'm guessing I don't just have a few small leaks, given the type of soil I have. Also, it sounds like it would have to remove the liner that is currently in the pond?
Sodium bentonite: Does anyone have any input on if this is a viable option to till into the existing soil to create a seal? I believe I was reading around 4 pounds per SF, give or take, would be required.
I've been trying to avoid a synthetic liner, as I'm worried this would get ripped (dog, animals, kids, sticks), but it seems this would be the give me the most guarantee of holding water, initially anyway.
Please let me know your thoughts on the best approach and experiences with any of the above. Thanks for your input!
Clean ( Dredge ) and Clay liner . Myself, totally with JLudwig . irregular shape and island makes liner very difficult . Hopefully with 19% Clay soil you can sheeps foot the bottom after removing grunge . Resulting in a very slow absorption rate . Get all stones, all roots , all sand veins, gravel veins removed or dug out and packed with clay to seal . All "natural springs are also natural drains during dry weather " . 1" per day without a good liner ? You may get it down to 1-2" per week with good Sheepsfoot. The Well for this size may be reasonable supplement. Save up the cash if necessary. God Bless You and Yours.
If it was me, I'd remove the island. The pond could be much deeper without it without having sides that were too steep. Liners really, really should be covered with 12+" inches of clean dirt to protect the liner from UV. exposure.
I like the clay, but if it's not available in your area then a liner is the way to go. BT Liner has the lightest, toughest liner that I have seen. AquaArmor Liner
They have a tutorial on how a liner should be installed in a pond too.
I need to have a conversation with the neighbor about the project in general, but especially getting rid of the island. About 1/3 of the pond runs through their property, unfortunately. That AquaArmor looks pretty slick, I've watch a few of the videos already. I'll be giving them a call for a quote. Thanks for the info.
You need to talk to teehjaeh (Tj@hudlandmgmt.com) about Soilfloc.
I don't know of a case where bentonite seals a pond leak as many have tried in my area and it just slows down the leak.
Personally I would do the clay liner but understand not everyone has the budget for that.
Yes, I'll have to get in touch with him about the Soilfloc. I like the looks of the cost if it is a viable option. Clay was/is my first choice, but the problem is sourcing the clay nearby.
Clean ( Dredge ) and Clay liner . Myself, totally with JLudwig . irregular shape and island makes liner very difficult . Hopefully with 19% Clay soil you can sheeps foot the bottom after removing grunge . Resulting in a very slow absorption rate . Get all stones, all roots , all sand veins, gravel veins removed or dug out and packed with clay to seal . All "natural springs are also natural drains during dry weather " . 1" per day without a good liner ? You may get it down to 1-2" per week with good Sheepsfoot. The Well for this size may be reasonable supplement. Save up the cash if necessary. God Bless You and Yours.
I was watching some videos from Natural Waterscapes, and I thought they said ideally clay content should be above 30%. The water level was about 12" higher than it is now (in the photos) to where I filled it to test the rate of water loss. I can only assume it is worse if the pond were to be filled completely.
That would be a good assumption. As water depth increases so does the hydrostatic pressure, weight of water pushing down due to gravity. This increase in pressure would cause your rate of loss to also increase as the water is being "pushed" through the leak at a higher rate. Have you investigated AquaBlok? It is a less complex approach to a clay (bentonite) liner that is self-compacting, so there is no need for compaction or amending soils. It is also manufactured in NW Ohio and only a stone's throw from you. I am a rep for AquaBlok, as we are a PB sponsor, and would be more than happy to help. I am here in the Buckeye State and have some OH contacts that would be able to help find a solution to your leaky pond no matter what avenue you choose to go with (Liner, Clay, or Polymer).
That would be a good assumption. As water depth increases so does the hydrostatic pressure, weight of water pushing down due to gravity. This increase in pressure would cause your rate of loss to also increase as the water is being "pushed" through the leak at a higher rate. Have you investigated AquaBlok? It is a less complex approach to a clay (bentonite) liner that is self-compacting, so there is no need for compaction or amending soils. It is also manufactured in NW Ohio and only a stone's throw from you. I am a rep for AquaBlok, as we are a PB sponsor, and would be more than happy to help. I am here in the Buckeye State and have some OH contacts that would be able to help find a solution to your leaky pond no matter what avenue you choose to go with (Liner, Clay, or Polymer).
Justin, Can you report on how ponds are doing that have been treated with AquaBlok 5 to 10 years ago?
Hi AquaStruct - welcome to the forum! I've been helping Pond Boss members the past decade with pond construction, rehab, and leak abatement and am happy to share my experiences and help however I can.
A client shot some videos you may find helpful. Feel free to reach out anytime - glad to help however I can. tj@hudlandmgmt.com
SeekLeak Results 1 Year Later:
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
I need to have a conversation with the neighbor about the project in general, but especially getting rid of the island. About 1/3 of the pond runs through their property, unfortunately. That AquaArmor looks pretty slick, I've watch a few of the videos already. I'll be giving them a call for a quote. Thanks for the info.
I don't know anything about aqua armor, but you got the best guy in the business right here with TJ. I've used his product (SeekLeak) a couple of times in my grow outs and have had fantastic results. I'm not sure there is a better option for treatment with water in the pond, he'll spend the time to help ya every step of the way as well.
That would be a good assumption. As water depth increases so does the hydrostatic pressure, weight of water pushing down due to gravity. This increase in pressure would cause your rate of loss to also increase as the water is being "pushed" through the leak at a higher rate. Have you investigated AquaBlok? It is a less complex approach to a clay (bentonite) liner that is self-compacting, so there is no need for compaction or amending soils. It is also manufactured in NW Ohio and only a stone's throw from you. I am a rep for AquaBlok, as we are a PB sponsor, and would be more than happy to help. I am here in the Buckeye State and have some OH contacts that would be able to help find a solution to your leaky pond no matter what avenue you choose to go with (Liner, Clay, or Polymer).
I called and looked into this before trying the last time I had leaks in 2 grow outs. No disrespect but the cost to treat each pond was far more than cost to build the pond in the beginning. Not having ability to pay that cost, I had to look elsewhere. I have a client that used your product in the Denver area, and it sounds like it worked very well. Some of these ponds are so remote with surroundings/terrain that wouldn't allow application which was an issue for me when I first looked at it.
Justin, Can you report on how ponds are doing that have been treated with AquaBlok 5 to 10 years ago?[/quote]
Esshup, AquaBlok has been used on hundreds if not thousands of sites without any issues and are still maintaining their low permeable barrier as intended. AquaBlok is used and specified on many high-profile projects including USEPA Superfund sites, USACE specifications, anti-seep collars on major oil/gas pipelines, 100-year caps for contaminated sediments/water, and of course many many ponds/basins. I do not want to hi-jack this thread, but I did want to provide a few high-profile ponds that AquaBlok was used to seal 5 - 10 years ago and have maintained their seal. I have included historical and current images of 3 high profile high traffic sites including, Franklin Park Cascades 2019 (Highly permeable soils Columbus, OH), Goodale Park 2011 (Highly permeable soils Columbus, OH) and The New York State Fair Grounds 2016 (Contaminated and highly permeable soils Syracuse, NY)
AquaBlok is not a silver bullet and is not the solution for all leaky ponds. There are projects where other approaches are more cost effective, or constructability is just not feasible for AquaBlok. We do extensive work and research to ensure AquaBlok is an ideal solution for each project. AquaBlok is a niche product that has advantages traditional approaches do not to create a user-friendly pond sealing platform.
Please let me know if I did not upload these pictures correctly.
Per my last reply, AquaBlok is not the solution for all ponds. In some cases, we are not the most cost-effective option. Pond leaks are typically not cheap fixes, as the golden rule is to spend the money upfront to avoid having to pay for repairs. My initial post was to give AquaStruct another tool in the toolbelt to look into and also extent my local knowledge as we are an Ohio based company.
AquaStruct, I build ponds in the northern and western parts of Kansas and I can tell ya beyond a doubt, silty loam is damn hard to seal, in fact tougher to seal than sand. It's shifty, very porous and doesn't compact at all. Give TJ a call/email and discuss this with him, his product works very well in porous soil types if you listen to him, I don't know anyone else that has had as good of success as he has.
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