Jake, welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new pond!
Did your operator use compaction equipment on the clay sides and on the bottom after you removed the boulders? Or did he just run over it with the dozer?
If you believe that you have a good seal on your pond, then my recommendation is to start filling with water. High clay-content soil will actually start cracking as it continues to dry out. You need to keep water on it as much as possible.
Further, it will take some time after the water level reaches full pool just to determine if your pond has a leak.
If you discover later that your pond DOES have a leak that requires remediation, you can drain the pond and perform your work. Unfortunately, you will have a long wait period for the pond to dry out enough to work on it. (If you think it is likely that the pond will leak, then now is the best time IMHO to work in bentonite or other sealing measures if you are still within your budget.)
Do you have a bottom drain, or enough low ground beyond the pond to run a siphon? If so, always use that option to drain your pond. DO NOT drain your pond through your irrigation well casing (unless there is an emergency). When the pond is full of clean water, the gravel pack between the pond and casing should be pretty effective at keeping particles from going through your irrigation pump. However, if you drain the pond and run the last bit of mucky water through the well casing, then you will start to get an infiltration of "fines" that will slowly decrease the permeability (water flow capability) of your gravel pack.
Good luck on your project, and please post pictures! This crowd loves pictures.
Rod
