Leaking pond

[Gary Fowler]

Thanks for the replies, alot to consider before/ if I make an offer

You will for sure have to remove all the dam material down below the rat holes then add back good clay (removed dirt might be usable) and compact it. This isn't going to be cheap to do. So when making your offer, let the heirs know why you deducted for the pond.
You might go to an excavation contractor for an estimate on draining the water down and remaking the dam so you can show it to the heirs.

As one poster said, get rid of the rats prior to doing any work on the dam. A good .17HMR or .22 WM both with scopes and accurately zeroed will take care of those rats, it will just take some setting out there and watching for them. I have a .17HMM that is zeroed at 100 yards and it would be deadly on a swimming or banked muskrat. I doubt that there would be any law against shooting a pest that is damaging your property, but check with the Fish and Game guys first. We had a beaver that moved into our pond and they said just shoot it, they didn't have resources to trap them.

 

[EddieWalker]

The muskrats stay because there is a food source for them. Cattails, reeds, high grass, etc. The food sources must be eliminated (or else other rats will move in) , the rats have to be trapped out and the dam needs to be fixed. If you have many leaks, not just one or two, probably best to strip the dam down below the muskrat dens and rebuild it so it is solid and all the loose layers of fill are compacted again. Clean out all the vegetation and 50 years of silt and start a new pond adventure. Will not be easy or cheap, but the pond will be a constant problem if you buy the property and do not fix the pond properly. Again, that is if there is many leaks, not just one or two. You can hand dig and tamp one or two dens, but if it has not held water at the spillway level the last 8 years, there probably is substantial damage. Bentonite needs to be mixed into the existing soil so it swells and binds well if you decide to purchase some and try this method. Just dumping it in the pond without mixing it in will not work.

I agree with this one hundred percent!!!!

Eddie