Anybody know to "seal" a dirt pond?

[s219]

I guess the only caution about bentonite is that it's a blue/gray color, and tends to stick out like a sore thumb in many places. I remember seeing a runoff trail of it when they grouted my well pipe, and figured the environmental inspectors would be able to spot it by airplane (they were inspecting us periodically since we're near water). I suppose over time, other silt will cover it up in a pond, but to start off, it's probably going to look a little out of place.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Nice little critter your playing with there!

We did that once. Dug a pond deeper for the second time only to create a waterless crater. I think we had it partially filled in again with clay from around here, but it was basically a dissapointment for decades. Recently I placed fifty or so truckloads of unwanted fill on the dam and I think the water level is coming up.

Around here people truck in blue clay to line ponds, but that's expensive.

 

[roadhunter]

We are doing a medium size pond liner project right now. Removing 12k yards of sediment and installing 3k yards of liner. We are using some clay material from another location for the liner. We spread 8 inches of liner out and get it wet then disk the material and wet again. The next day we compact it with a sheep's foot or dozer if it's soft. We do two of the 6 inch lifts and then its' time for testing. For something as small as what you are doing I would think a rubber liner might work best.

 

[Sodo]

Hmm,,,,,It's just starting to clear up, do you think the bentonite will make it look unnatural? Maybe I'd just better wait and see if it plugs itself.

Here's a couple pics. You can see how it's wetted the spillway but doesn't spill.

I think this will look nice when it greens up in a couple months.

 

[xzcVAbc5]

Can you dig down on your property somewhere and find some clay? I'd happily send you some Kansas clay in exchange for some topsoil.

 

[FTG-05]

Bentonite sounds like the way to go! THANKS! I cannot drain the pond easily (maybe siphon). Do you think I can make a slurry of it and (try to) pour down the sides? Or should I make a bentonite slurry in the pond with the excavator bucket? Will it settle out (thus remain in the pond)?

[snip]

I thought about black plastic but didn't want to deal with hiding the edges, and the plastic has to be as high as the spillway, all the way around. It really seems like a lot more work,,,,. Want it to appear natural ASAP, the reason for this pond is entirely aesthetic, also for my daughter to feel like she "created something" every time we go past it.

Usually you lay the black plastic liner down, weight it with concrete blocks, brick, etc. then cover it with several inches of dirt, clay, fill etc. The purpose of the dirt cover is to protect the liner from sharp objects like animals hooves.

There are stories over on Pond Boss of people spending 6-10 times to stop a leak over what they originally spent to create the pond in the first place.

In this case, what I would have done, is complete the excavation, then rented a compactor and compacted the heck out of the bottom and dam portions. That's my plan when I build my little pond later this year.

Good luck.

 

[Sodo]

This is a practice pond, a project with my daughter more to get her using the excavator. But then it turned into a project that we thought could look nice. In the last few days I've learned a lot about ponds. If I were to make a BIG pond that costs real money I'd do a lot more careful planning!

I'll probably do another little pond with my other girl and this time will think about a liner. But isn't dirt sitting on a liner just "mud"?

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Count your blessings - it's a small pond.

My pond is about 100 ft wide and 15 ft deep. It holds about 1 ft of water in the deepest point. Fills with a few days of steady rain and drains instantly when it stops. I'm looking at hauling in clay to lay a 6 - 12" lining.

 

[calman93611]

We use to use Bentonite. It is a clay in powder form. Pond has to be empty, then spread the bentonite over the entire bottom and to the side, it will stick to wet dirt. Once exposed to water it seals and almost looks like plaster. Well drillers use this to keep a well hole from collapsing when drilling. We used it on a 5 acre pond and worked very well. I seem to remember that it was packaged in 20-40 lb. bags.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

We use to use Bentonite. ............ I seem to remember that it was packaged in 20-40 lb. bags.

I've looked at this quite a bit. Did a lot of reading, then purchased 1000 lbs to test it out in a small depression. It is recommended to mix with soil before spreading. Great idea ... lemme get my shovel and a rake The cost is also a bit pricey.