# pond wont fill



## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

this has been going on for about 5 years i have done everything to try to get this pond to hold water. it has been redug 2 times i tried the bentonite nothing has worked. the pond will get about 1/2 full then go down to being a 1/4 full. the pond actually sits above the house and where the water stops is in line with the house. so i assume that is where the water table is. I thought about a liner but there is a lot of rock and i was worried about a liner tearing. my other plan was to make a well in the middle of the pond and use a windmill to feed water up into the pond. i am pretty much about out of ideas. any suggestions would be appreciated. my next thing is to advertise it as meteor impact site and sell tickets


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## alighthouse (Jul 24, 2006)

You might need clay to seal any leaks


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

so do you think if i brought in a load of clay and spread around with a bobcat that would work that would probably be cheaper than any other idea


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## saugeye_nut (Apr 7, 2007)

i don't know how big your pond is but yes the best way is to re-line the pond with good clay. you need to drain it and then de-muck it, next you go and line it with at least one foot of good clay. i have built about 30 ponds and not one leak yet "knock on wood". the one pond i dig i hit rock and then just lined it with good clay tracked it in good and woola. if you hit rock and didn't cover it with good dirt thats your problem.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

You say it was redone 2 times. Was there ever a key way put in?


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## T-180 (Oct 18, 2005)

You need to line it with clay like others have said. You said you were afraid of using a liner due to the rocks .............. rocks don't hold water, clay does. Also, it sounds like it sits on a site that is higher than the surrounding area, so there is also a problem with not enough area draining TO it ; sounds like it drains to other areas. A good lining of clay will seal it , but you may need to supplement the water supply in the dry months.


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

Since you aready have a hole, a liner is going to be your cheapest route. If I remember correctly, you have almost no watershed feeding the pond either so if you want to keep it even remotely close to full, well water will have to be added. It would take a HUGE windmill to produce enough water just to keep up with evaporation and probably cost more than a new 4x4 truck. An electric pump would be much more practical.


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## bountyhunter (Apr 28, 2004)

read this real good . my pond , dug out clay removed, pond formed clay returned and packed in with a sheeps foot behind a bull dozer , 25yrs old never a leak , and ALL my water is from a well , my pond is above ground level , so not to get all the krud water run off . hire a real pond builder .then go look, ask the owners about the builder befrore you hire one . some guys with a back hoe and a dump truck think they can build any thing , its a big job building a good pond .and cheap if you do it right the first time .your welcome to come look at mine or call mike wagner the builder .


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## night (Sep 29, 2008)

Not to change the subject how much does it cost to put in a pond and how big?


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## saugeye_nut (Apr 7, 2007)

There is alot of varitibles in the cost. Is the pond is going to be just a strait hole, or built in a ridge, size, depth, and material. If it is going to be a hole dug in a flat area its going to cost alot more. Why you ask, you will have to move more dirt, next how far away are you going to move the dirt. The best case is if it is a ridge that all you have to do is to cut a keyway and build a dam. The main thing is you have to have good clay to line the pond with, if you don't you will have to buy clay, may be a contractor needs to get rid of clay, or use a liner. Do you have to clear timber first? The last thing is if you run into a problem, spring, rock, sloppy dirt, slime, and or sand. I have seen it all happen and every pond is differnant. If you are thinking about it now is the time because diesel is alot cheaper then last year at this time, and it is going to go up. Hopefully this will help you out. If you have anymore questions feel free to pm me.

ferd


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