PITA pond

[davejo]

The core trench usually extends 3-10’ deep below what was the original ground surface. The purpose is to interrupt any paths for water along or just below the surface (roots, varmint tunnels, old pipes/wires, etc.) The clay core itself starts at the bottom of this trench and goes up all the way to above the water level, and simply acts as a ‘last resort’ to seal any leaks. The other part, depending on what type of overflow, is to have anti-seep collars around the overflow pipe going through the dam. Again to prevent water from following the edge of the pipe through the dam.

Are there other successful ponds near by?

There are a handful of ponds nearby, some hold water, some don't. definiteley hit or miss. Most of them are pretty crude, shallow affairs where a farmer just starts pushing dirt into a berm to make a hole where his cattle can get a drink if water happens to collect in the hole. Within half a mile the neighbor has one full pond and one dry one. Both have veins of rock sticking out of the bottoms.

My pond was built as an aesthetic feature or maybe for fish as the previous owner left some huge boulders stacked up attractively for fish structure or for birds to light upon? The sellers were doctors, not farmers. The dam looks engineered to me and has a siphon system for the overflow so there is no pipe penetrating the base of the dam. There is also a small spillway thing at one edge that is lined with rocks as a second overflow.

 

[davejo]

You could try poking some holes in the bottom of your jug to see if you lose water from above the material, draw a line on the bottle of where the water line is before poking holes. Looks like it may be good material but it likely should be that, solid/compressed, for about 2 feet thick. I've got tree roots and junk that are what I assume are causing the leaks in my pond. I'm assuming you know that even though it looks dry-ish on top that'd likely sink a machine.



















Bentonite Bucket Test Kit

Pre-weighed packs of Wyoming Sodium Bentonite Clay for testing pond soil. Determine the best application rate for local pond soils.

shop.naturalwaterscapes.com

Here's an $80 test kit for bentonite dosing. I figured i could make my own test bucket. I drilled about 15 or 20 small holes in the bottom and packed in about 6 inches of the test hole spoil. There were about 10 drops of water coming into my catch pan the first day and none today.

I'm not sure if this is a standardized test but i'm happy with what i see

 

[aighead]

Much better deal than 80 bucks! I'd be pretty happy with 10 drops then none, as well. Make sure there is some air under the bucket, so it's not just airlocked.

 

[davejo]

After 9 days the bucket only lost a few drops out the holes. I dumped out the upside -down dirt cake and about 1.5 inches of it were soft and saturated. The rest was pretty much unchanged and the bottom of the bucket was not wetted.

 

[aighead]

Welp, I'm jealous of that, assuming you get the same results all around the pond.