Everybody wants a pond. It is the perfect backdrop for that
long-awaited country homestead. And it can be utilitarian
too, providing a nice crop of homegrown fish or serving as a
watering hole for local wildlife or domestic livestock.
But what should you do if your dream pond is turning into a
muddy nightmare? The reasons for a drop in your water level
can be as simple as muskrats or as complex as site
location.
Tate County, in northern Mississippi, is a hot spot for
ponds, old and newly constructed. All of them can pose
problems, and landowners often turn to the USDA's Natural
Resources Conservation Service for help.
Scott Richie and Terry Snider work in the county's service
center, and they've seen their share of pond seepage. Both
stress that this is most often a problem that originated
with the contractor who put in the pond.
"The key to a good pond is a good core ditch," says Richie.
"This is where the levee should be. You dig down 2 to 4
feet. Then make a 10-foot-wide levee that you backfill with
soil, preferably good clay soil. If you throw your levee up
on top of grass, that dirt won't bond. That is where seepage
usually begins."
The cure for levee seepage is a track hoe or a backhoe
working behind the levee to find the source of the
seepage.
"Sometimes it's as simple as muskrats. They can get into a
levee and dig holes," says Richie. "Once you find the source
of your seepage it is usually easy to repair if it's through
the levee."
The real problem is when the seepage is due to something
bigger, such as a sand or gravel vein. "If your pond is
built over one of these and the contractor doesn't cap it
with good dirt, you are going to have a problem," says
Richie.
Snider agrees, adding that it is important to take soil
samples when a pond site is being selected in an area where
the ground is sandy. The NRCS will help get this done.
But what if a pond already exists on your property? There
are many solutions, most of which are expensive and none of
which are completely guaranteed to work.
"I fixed a leaking pond on my own place," says Snider. "And
of all things, I fixed it with hay. I threw bermuda hay in
the pond, and as it got soggy it went to those areas with
leaks. That was eight to 10 years ago, and the pond hasn't
leaked since."
Another simple option is disking around the edge of the
leaking pond, notes Snider. "We've been successful disking
around a pond, creating a situation where rains will wash
the soil down into the pond. That often seals the leak. But
that's not guaranteed. Nothing will work every time," he
says.
Probably the most expensive and elaborate repair jobs begin
with draining a pond. After that you can incorporate
bentonite into the bottom of the pond; add some good local
soil and compact it forming a blanket; use a dispersing
agent; or incorporate a waterproof lining.
Knowing which of these techniques to use is often as much
art as science. And again, Snider says, "There are no
guarantees."