Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Need Advice on Soil Probes & Sampling

The sand ran through a red clay layer over the top of the grey clay. In one pond an entire sand lens (1/4" thick) separated the two clay layers in addition to having some sand veins. The core trench was deeper than the sand veins and lens so it cut off the exit routes. The sand veins were functioning like field tiles before the core trenches blocked them off. There were also some sand "pits" filled with water that acted like quick sand, so that was a bit scary. I actually got the dozer stuck in one quick-sand pit halfway down the slope on the non-dam side of my 3rd pond and had to dig out on the slope below to release the water so I could get past it with the dozer heading down hill (fortunately that pond had a bottom drain). On my second pond, the contractor hit a sand vein which spouted water like a fire hydrant and added 3' of water to the bottom of the pond in about an hour (0.9 acre pond). That pond did not get any deeper. On the upper ends of the ponds, the sand veins act as springs. Fortunately, the water coming in seems to always be high enough that my first 3 ponds stay pretty full, even in a drought. Its too early to say how things will work out on the 4th pond.