leaking pond

Recently my little brother bought some land and it came with an acre pond. The pond dam leaks and was wondering if thee is anyway to fix it without digging up the dam. The dam is really narrow like the width of a lawnmower. It had a bunch of trees and brush on it and i told him to start by cutting those down. I think the dam was leaking through where the roots are. Over time, the ground will settle when the roots start to rot but we both are impatient and want it full now lol. There are fish in it and would hate to lose them by digging up the pond dam. Any one have any ideas?

I've had some success with bentonite clay in a couple of ponds. Your local farm store should have it in 50-pound bags for about $10 a bag.

The small pond I have now has shale in the bottom of it and bentonite didn't work in it. A couple different people have told me that drywall will seal a pond so I'm trying that now. I got a utility trailer full of drywall from a nearby house that is under construction and covered the bottom of the pond. Now I'm waiting to see if it is going to help.

Jerry mentioned a good starting point. Bentonite clay might work if you can get a good enough supply and get it in the right spot. Woody vegetation should not be allowed to grow on a pond dam, but removal after the fact can sometimes do as much or more damage than leaving it. As you mentioned, the stump/roots may rot and leave a pathway for the water.

It also sounds like your dam may be WAY to narrow. If you have a good clay source elsewhere on your property, you might want to hire someone to add some girth to your dam. This might also neccessitate adding additional outlet pipe.

First of all, however, you might want to get your local NRCS office to come out and access the situation and give you suggestions. They probably can't do much to build a pond anymore, but they will usually come out and consult with you on somthing of this nature.

Go to Pondboss.com, on the main page, left side, click on "ask the boss" it will take you to the question/answer forum. More info on there than anywhere else on the web. I love that site. Good luck

I own a Directional Boring company and we use bentonite for such problems. I have seen that stuff plug some serious leaks

I've heard chicken manure will fix it.

Thick landscaping material. Lay it where its down in the water after getting the trees cut off the dam. This stuff will catch all the stuff or silt that washes in and will over time. Fill it and stop it.
Not a quick fix but will work.
Its that or cut all the trees off and play in the mud and that will close it off. But if its deep that is hard to do. When the water gets warm. Walk around as deep as you can and work it into mud. Takes a while. But I have done one like that.
pete

the first post JB that said bentonite and all the others that said the same was the way to go check it out they are right

Try your local water well supply company and ask for Quickgel(i'm a driller too). It is basically bentonite clay and I have used it for the same type situation. It comes in 50 lb. bags and is around 7.00 a bag. It will form a wall known as a filter cake wich will in turn hold clay in place if it is formed thick enough. This is a short term fix and the best long term fix seems to be widen your levee if possible. I have used it to remedy a flooded rice field with a hole in the levee.

My grandpa was a heavy equipment operator all his life. He helped build Barkley Lake and if I had a $20 bill for every farm pond he and I dug when I was young, I wouldn't have to work today.

Sounds to me you've got an awful narrow levee. Sounds like it was dug with an old 3 point hitch pond scoop. When building a levee you have to dig a "core trench" and build up your levee with clay then top it off with top soil and seed it down. Sounds like they may have just piled dirt on top of the ground for a levee. If that's the case it may be a tuff fix.

In the old days when a farmer would get a leaking levee or build a new pond they'd turn cattle in on it. The cattle would eventually "walk it down and reseal the levee. Never saw one of granddaddy's levees leak.

I live down the road in Possum Trot and I might be able to look at it for ya.

i have heard fine hay like bermuda grass will seal the leaks by flowing with the water towards the leak and then acting like a plug in the hole and as silt and other finer materials collect there problem solved. you should be able to get a few bales of bermuda grass from a horse farmer locally for around $5 a bale.

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