I don't know, but it sounds kind of risky without testing first.

Try this?
1. Drill a bunch of <1/4" holes in the bottom of two 5-gal buckets to simulate a porous barrier.
2. Mix some hard-pan with the ESS-13 to half-full in the first bucket with some moisture and try to compact it like the pond basin would be.
3. Add water to fill the bucket the rest of the way.
4. Do the same with the 2nd bucket, but no ESS-13.
5. Observe the differences over a period of days.