Pond With Major Leak.....

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robertwhite

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Didn't know where else to pose this question, so here goes...........

Small stock pond, maybe 1/4 acre, approx 3-4 ft deep. So say 50K-75K gallons?

Seems that over several years of cattle tramping through it, they have managed to punch a hole(s) in it. Used to drain out very slowly, now a full pond will drain in less than a week. The bottom of the pond is extremely mucky and you can't walk in much of it without sinking.

Pond is strictly rain and runoff fed.

Last month after torrential rains, pond was literally overflowing. A week or so later, it was basically empty. Water is absolutely seeping directly underground at a fast rate. It flows underground to a low spot about 75 ft away and the ground is saturated to the point that you can't even run a tractor thru it without sinking.

Thought I found a leak, spread approx 1K lbs of Bentonite which seemed to fix one spot. Yet after more rain and a partial refill of water, it is drained out yet again.

Pretty much at a loss for what else to try in order to locate the leak.

Is there a dye that would is with the water and flow to the leak leaving evidence of dye behind?

Other solutions?

Any fixes, ideas, thoughts would be great.
 
We had one that leaked out for several years, it would fill up after a rain then be down to half the next day.
Had all kinds of advice as to how to fix it from hauling clay in to fill up the hole, to putting a liner in it. Finally it started holding water, never knew why except maybe the cattle had tromped it enough it filled it in.
 
I would start over with a fresh pond especially if it is only 3-4 ft deep. Maybe that low spot is where the pond should have been? I had one that was leaking and silted in to where it was only a couple feet deep. Dug another one upstream in the same water shed and made it 12' deep. When it over flows. it goes into the old one.
 
I agree, for one that small its probably easiest to have it done right. Sounds like it wasn't keyed/packed in correctly. Would probably only take a few hours on a dozer for a guy that knows what he's doing.
 
I've heard you can fix those by fencing in a bunch of hogs. Never tried it myself but lots of folks around here will tell you that.
 

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