Thank you so much for the generous offer! I am coming down south of Dallas to see some Texas friends this fall. However, since it is Texas, that could still be a looooong way from you. (I won't have kids that trip, but I may PM you to see if it would be OK just to walk around your place and get advice on what worked for you.)
My two 0.1-acre mini ponds are both about 80 years old. I think they were excavated with a dragline, based on the construction. They are set up to catch surface water flows.
However, I have monitored both of them very closely since we purchased the farm. Both are clearly tied to the groundwater level. The were dug in some clay, but there are a few sand layers in the soil profile.
I suspect they did zero sealing if they were using a dragline.
My bigger problem is that both of these ponds are within the floodplain. I can muck them out - if I push the spoil above the flood boundary line. Any other work would be a regulatory battle.
I do want to muck one of the ponds and use it for a forage or grow-out pond. No great loss if a 100-year flood gets those fish!
