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Fixing a pond that won’t hold water?
Posted on 7/6/19 at 4:56 pm
Posted on 7/6/19 at 4:56 pm
Back in October we bought a piece of property that was complelty wooded. We ended up hiring the worst dirt contractor ever to clear the land out for us, and dig a pond with intentions to dig a pond and use the dirt around the place for house pad etc. well the jackass dirt guy starts digging and hits sand about 5-6 ft down and freaks out and doesn’t really know what to do. I kinda caught on pretty quick he wasnt as experienced as he claimed and ask him to bring in someone else to help him fix/finish, but his ego was too big. So he starts to dig outward instead of down and we get to a point where I have about a 1/4 acre pond about 5-6 foot deep and I made him quit digging bc the pond was getting a lot wider and the house pad wasn’t getting higher at all. Ended up having to bring in dirt to finish up my house pad etc.
Now in the last 6-7 months there’s been some debate on if the pond is holding water or not, but it’s been really hard to tell bc it’s rained so much. Well with our recent heat and dry spell it’s clear the pond doesn’t hold water. The levels have dropped about 3-3.5 foot. Anyone have experience with an issue like this? Should I pump it down and try to put some kind of liner, should I just plan to fill it in? Add this to the laundry list of ways the dirt guy screwed us. TIA
Now in the last 6-7 months there’s been some debate on if the pond is holding water or not, but it’s been really hard to tell bc it’s rained so much. Well with our recent heat and dry spell it’s clear the pond doesn’t hold water. The levels have dropped about 3-3.5 foot. Anyone have experience with an issue like this? Should I pump it down and try to put some kind of liner, should I just plan to fill it in? Add this to the laundry list of ways the dirt guy screwed us. TIA
8
Posted on 7/6/19 at 5:03 pm to gsvar2004
Flex seal that sum bitch
Posted on 7/6/19 at 5:20 pm to gsvar2004
Snapping turtle pond
Posted on 7/6/19 at 5:39 pm to Gatorgar
Pump dry and dig deeper til you get to the desired depth or you hit clay. Hopefully you will hit clay as this is what you will need to line the pond to seal it. I would suggest having a soil sample or rent a skid steer with an auger and drill to a depth of about 10’ below bottom of pond. That will give you a much better idea of what needs to be done, once you know what the soil is the next 10 feet
Edited to add, you will want to put at 2’ thick or so layer of clay the whole way and side so that pond will hold water.
Edited to add, you will want to put at 2’ thick or so layer of clay the whole way and side so that pond will hold water.
This post was edited on 7/6/19 at 6:37 pm
Posted on 7/6/19 at 7:07 pm to gsvar2004
Research spreading chicken litter in the pond. Of course it’s dry as a bone.
Posted on 7/6/19 at 7:23 pm to gsvar2004
I’ve drained catfish ponds and drove around the bottom with an 8 wheel tractor and one of those big soil aerators with the spikes and it works sometimes
Posted on 7/6/19 at 7:27 pm to gsvar2004
If you are in Louisiana contact your local USDA-NRCS office for your parish. LINK Personnel should be able to tell you from their soil survey maps if you have a clay layer beneath the sand lens for your area, and if they are unsure they can can take a soil core sample to determine this. There should be no $ charge.
Also read this fact sheet which will detail mitigation options. Renovating Leaky Ponds
In some instances seepage can be reduced significantly over time by accumulation of organic in the bottom sediments but you can’t count on this. The only reliable method in my opinion is going to be renovate the pond to insure it has a sufficient layer of clay within the water retaining basin. I’d fill it in rather than deal with a significant leaky pond that is too costly to renovate. Hopefully it doesn’t come down to that.
Also read this fact sheet which will detail mitigation options. Renovating Leaky Ponds
In some instances seepage can be reduced significantly over time by accumulation of organic in the bottom sediments but you can’t count on this. The only reliable method in my opinion is going to be renovate the pond to insure it has a sufficient layer of clay within the water retaining basin. I’d fill it in rather than deal with a significant leaky pond that is too costly to renovate. Hopefully it doesn’t come down to that.
Posted on 7/6/19 at 8:05 pm to deltaland
You can also fence it off and keep hogs in it for a year. It'll hold water then, IF it isn't a sand bottom.
Posted on 7/6/19 at 11:18 pm to gsvar2004
I woulsd suggest drain, then place a clay liner, wet of optimum. It can get pricey tho.
Posted on 7/7/19 at 8:17 am to gsvar2004
I don’t know where you’re located, but we have some land near Atlanta, Tx that my stepdad dug a pond on. After a few years he gave up on it holding water(and he was a heavy equipment operator for 50 years so he knew what he was doing). The soil was just too sandy to hold.
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