I have been trying to find the leak in my 1 acre pond for about 2 years now. This year I have started getting really serious. I am determined to find it. My strategy is to drain the pond little by little till the level stabilizes. It was leaking 1/4 inch per day half full during cool weather. As the level dropped, I walk the bank looking for soft spots. Found some sand in one area but looks to have good clay under it. I'm about to rule it out as my problem plus the water level still dropped the same amount after I drained it a good 2 vertical get away from the area. Just today I noticed the face of the dam seemed really towards the middle. Using my shovel, I dug holes about 1 ft deep 1 ft from the edge of the water. Did this along a large area of the dam. I noticed in many cases, my holes filled with water instantly at the same level as the pond. Some only filled a little and others didn't leak at all. I don't see water behind the dam at all. If it's leaking into my dam then the water must find a path down is all I can think. But I don't know what's normal for a dam. Since it's constructed, do all dams leak water into their face to some degree? I attached pics to show what I'm talking about. I show the area where I dug and an example of the seepage plus a shot where no water leaked back. What are my options here? I have soilfloc ready to use from last year. I never used it because I wanted to target my problem zones for best results. Do you all think the dam is the most likely source of my leak?

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