Should We Fix Our Leaking Pond With Bentonite Clay, a Liner, or a Well?

How to test your soil for clay content to did a pond. E250
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We are five years into a seven year effort of transforming 20 acres of "Piney Grove" in Northwest Florida into our dream homestead/mini farm to be filled with animals and joy. We plan to have a variety of miniature critters on our pastures, raise free-range chickens, grow fish in our pond, garden, plant fruit and nut trees, and harvest wild game. Our goal is
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[@PineyGroveHomestead]

We work in the bottom of the pond with our excavator here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3fIdYdmqqqId80 Our Natural Waterscapes Affiliate Link with our pond story: shop.naturalwaterscapes.com/#pineygrove This is our Amazon store with affiliate links to products we use on the channel. It doesn't cost you anymore and it helps support the channel, THANKS! www.amazon.com/shop/pineygrovehomestead-tractorsandoutdoors Some of our favorite products on Amazon (affiliate links): QC-Mate X-Boom Hydraulic Coupler Clamp: amzn.to/3MlLBfy Proven Industries Trailer Lock: amzn.to/3WVzytv Flex Tape: amzn.to/3R4MdWm Mechanix Leather Gloves: amzn.to/3HjoZZf Titan Post Hole Auger: amzn.to/3toHEx2 Ratcheting Fence Tensioner: amzn.to/3aEfSX0 Pope and Pipe Level: amzn.to/3tqUhHX Fence Post Puller: amzn.to/3QbcNhy T Post Manual driver: amzn.to/39dwt3J Come Along Winch: amzn.to/3aQMqND Clip bending tool: amzn.to/3xlqrG0 Mechanix Leather Gloves: amzn.to/3HjoZZf 6’ Digging and Pry bar: amzn.to/3vH5Agx Dewalt 20V ½” Impact Wrench: amzn.to/3UOcXNH Dewalt 20V brushless Leaf blower: amzn.to/3zwJcYm Dewalt 20V brushless ½” drill: amzn.to/3HGXJ7z Welcome to our channel! 🎥 What to Watch Next: Fixing Leaky Pond: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHbahIedZsaCjcU Transforming Our Property: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5uleHiPf8qUZ7s Clearing Thick Brush with Mini Excavator: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4exmqqFfbiKmtE Mowing Large Acreage: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYm5Znadh9hmpM0 ➤FOLLOW US on Social Media: Facebook - facebook.com/PineyGroveHomesteadAndMiniFarm/ Instagram - instagram.com/pghomestead/ TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@pineygrovehomestead Our Story: We are five years into a seven year effort of transforming 20 acres of "Piney Grove" in Northwest Florida into our dream homestead/mini farm to be filled with animals and joy. We plan to have a variety of miniature critters on our pastures, raise free-range chickens, grow fish in our pond, garden, plant fruit and nut trees, and harvest wild game. Our goal is to escape the stresses of corporate life and embrace all that country living has to offer as we enter the next chapter of our lives. Follow along on our journey! Thanks for watching and please Like and Subscribe to help our channel!! Brad & Deb

[@bubu6210]

Compliments. I usually never comment on KZbin videos, but your video was so useful that I just have to thank you. Finally I know how to go about my pond project that has been lingering in my head for long time. Very interesting to see the large quantities of bentonite of several lbs per square foot that are required - definitively much more that most of the KZbinrs who just sprinkle some bentonite across their ponds ... without prior analysis and little control afterwards.

[@Watchman-zd5cx]

WOW, very, very informative video. I have used bentonite on my ponds and it does work, but here in North Texas we are not going through a drought, which is a blessing. GREAT VIDEO, yes, you guys will have a great pond no doubt.

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

Thanks for the comment and watching! We hope that 2024 is the year of the PG pond.

[@aaronburford5701]

FINALLY, I have been missing your content and channel.... Happy New Year! I'm ready to continue to the journey with you.... You are must watch! I enjoy both you and your wife! Please continue share!

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

We publish a video on Tuesday and Saturday! Thanks for hanging in there!

[@aaronburford5701]

@@PineyGroveHomestead thanks for the info! Glad you are back!

[@aaronburford5701]

I love the way you and your wife go back and forth during the commentary! I love your passion!

[@aaronburford5701]

Liked and Subscribed

[@SCOTTA1]

people with leaking ponds are kinda like the hopeful guy setting at the slot machine.

[@joeread3596]

Go deeper find the water level in the ground.but you need to also seal the banks as the water will wick up from bottom

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

We have a fix in mind, but it's low priority right now.

[@ChrisShortyAllen]

The ground does not have a level. Water tables fluctuate. Flooding and drying out would be frequent.

[@jimmyyounger618]

Very relatable pond problem that I'm navigating myself right now. Helpful to know I'm not alone! My property had a pond when I bought it, and of course I saw the property during a wet year so it looked great. I even chose the site to build our home so we could enjoy being in proximity to the pond. The next year was drier, and I discovered that although the level had only dropped about a foot, the pond was actually quite shallow, only 4-5' in the deepest area of the pond. That just wasn't healthy and it soon got too warm and deoxygenated causing a fish kill. We hired a pond building "expert" with a bulldozer and references to dig out the pond to the Dept. of Conservation's recommended 8' minimum depth within at least 50% of the ponds total area. If only I knew then what I know now! Of all things, I have a now retired cousin who was a Chief District Engineer for the Dept. of Conservation. If I had asked him to inspect and supervise the work or at least asked what to look for, I wouldn't be in a predicament. There was no core trench across the dam. He dismissed my mention that I could see a limestone bottom, saying any initial seepage would plug with silt. (Utterly False) There was no anti seep collar over a hydrant supply line through the dam. The folks mowing hay accidentally ran down the hydrant years later. Thinking the supply pipe through the dam wouldn't be deeper than the frost line or just a couple of feet, rather than rent a backhoe I got a decent start with just the bucket on my tractor, but then had to dig another 4' deep with a shovel. I had to cut ledges into the trench walls to stand on in order to dig that deep. I kept thinking, "I've gotta be within a few inches of the pipe by now." Ha! If I knew how deep the pipe was and was a little less stubborn, I'd have rented a backhoe. After 2 years of severe drought, plus seepage, the pond is almost empty. I can tell exactly where the water level of the pond is now down in my hole on the other side of the dam because that was the level where water began to seep in and fill the hole with water. What's especially irritating is that at that depth in the ground, it's all blue clay. That clay is so sticky that I had to repeatedly beat the shovel on a board just to get some of it off the shovel while digging. An actual pro pond builder, not just an idiot with a dozer and a good story, would have graded away some top soil and pulled up that clay to line the pond. It's so water resistant that you can't get it off boots or shovels with 45 lbs. of water pressure through a straight stream nozzle on a garden hose. Either let it dry and scrape it off or fire up the power washer. My tentative plan was to use my box scraper to build a long trench where I could drive in a track loader or backhoe in and collect enough yards of clay to line the pond, but still rototill in a mix with bentonite. What shocked me was your mention of the cost for bentonite, though! There's no date on an online article published by the Shawnee County Conservation District in our neighbor State of Kansas, but the bentonite prices they published as "last known" prices for bentonite were: "1. Bulk: $50/ton, 2. 100 lb. Bags: $80/ton, 3. Shipping: $50-60/ton within 100 mi. radius." Even at twice their quote/estimate for bentonite and shipping cost is or should only be $200/ton now? If bentonite cost 1100/ton and a liner is comparable, repair of the pond would be roughly half what I paid for this 45 acre property just 24.5 years ago. No way I'm spending that! I won't live with it as it is, so my Plan B might be to just push the dam into the almost dry hole and be done with the idea of a pond. Sorry for my length, so a final note: The old pond wasn't great because it was too shallow and the old dam on the south side of the pond was covered with trees. Everything I've heard or read is that you don't want trees on your dam. But not only were they nice looking and provide a nice shade to hang out under, all that shade kept the water cooler during wet years and the reduced sunlight on half the pond prevented the blooms of ugly alge scum my new pond got even when full following a year of record snow and rainfall.

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

Probably more stories like yours and ours than successful cheap ponds!

[@ChrisShortyAllen]

Never dig near a dam.

[@jimmyyounger618]

@@ChrisShortyAllen How would you remove or replace a hydrant on the back side, base of a dam without digging?

[@jerrybowen1635]

Hope you guys are all ok after the storm that went through.

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

It's unusual for us to have so much tornadic activity, especially in January! But we didn't have any damage, so we are very lucky. Thanks for checking.

[@nicksinyc]

I am a believer in trucking in red clay to line the pond.

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

Cheaper to buy bentonite and a bit more of a sure thing than untested clay. Thanks for watching.

[@SherrickDuncan]

My land is literally made of red clay. No dug bond hold water in it.

[@richardbrookins5406]

I live not to far from you and am also wanting to put in a pond so I am following this very closely. You may be saving me a ton of headache so thanks!

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

Lots of swampy areas all around us that hold water naturally where it's probably very easy to have a nice pond! Unfortunately for us, it's coming the hard way.

[@georgewest2096]

I have done bentonite but not enough, one pound per square foot, and it did not help much . then we did the best Polyvinyl liner, 40 mill and it lasted 18 years. Then last year we had to take the old brittle one out and installed a new, polypropoylne sun resistant one. At eighty I am not to concerned because this is it for me. Ponds are expensive.

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

Some people just dig a hole and it fills with water!! Not us!

[@tpack670]

I would have already quit burning $$$$$ long ago. Good luck.

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

Cheaper than a swimming pool! That's what we keep telling ourselves.

[@chrislnflorida5192]

Ive been looking for your final video of saving the pond. What did u finally do to save the pond?

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

We still need to drain it an line the bottom with bentonite clay. But, we are in the middle of building a house AND the pond has been staying pretty full from rain. These are not pond videos, but the pond is in the background: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWHZkmh4etB1iJo kzbin.info/www/bejne/goSkc3mea7p2mrM

[@Crystalpal1978]

What happens when you plant lillies and other water plants?

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

If you are talking about sealing the bottom, plants shouldn't effect that, but muskrats and other animals that might burrow in the bottom and bank would

[@kirkwann9675]

Did the shalex not work?

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

It's hard to say because we never finished putting it all out across the whole bottom of the pond. We feel like it slowed down the leaking on the North side.

[@brandonyoung7760]

I would find someone with some good pure clay and pack it down really good with a industrial roller

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

We are going to use bentonite at some point in the future.

[@bwtawny]

With a liner you will not be able to put native plants or aquatic creatures that make holes (catfish, crawfish).

[@jimmyyounger618]

I've wondered about this and how well a liner would hold up to something like a sharp clawed snapping turtle that may burrow to brumate, (brumating being their version of hibernating).

[@charleswelch249]

You forgot one more option that I've seen work for others. A company makes a polymer granular that swelled up when in contact with water. You don't need special equipment. You just spread it by hand like showing grass seed and it sinks to the bottom of the pond and works it's way onto the leaks and swelles up to seal the leak. Check it out before you give up and spend lots of time and money for a linear.

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

We tried it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHbahIedZsaCjcU

[@charleswelch249]

@@PineyGroveHomestead I was trying to help out and you not spending a fortune.

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

@@charleswelch249 In the long run it will be worth it......The pond is 8' deep now!

[@coltonstephens2547]

I’d just use liners. It future proofs it so you don’t have to deal with this headache again for the rest of your life. Spending a bit more money is worth it if you have peace of mind that it’ll function properly.

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

The liner is a complicated install especially the edges to keep the sun from deteriorating it....and we are worried about deer and dogs puncturing it. Still weighing our options. Thanks for watching.

[@BradSwartout-b3j]

I have a very similar situation. I built a pond and it filled up in a few months only to drain out a year later. I am now left with the same decision. Do I spend money excavating and bringing in clay only to have it leak again; or buy a $15,000 liner and know it will hold. I am currently planning to do the liner. BTL has a good system with a textile protectant that goes over the liner for the first 15’ down the bank. Then you can place dirt or rip rap on top to prevent animals from puncturing it and it also helps protect it from the sun giving it longer life expectancy. You create a “gutter like” ledge to prevent the rock or dirt from washing all the way down to the bottom of the pond. I would be interested in talking to you more about your thoughts and plans. I wish you luck. Ponds add so much to a property.

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

@@BradSwartout-b3j We recently did a soil bucket test. Here's our pond playlist...we talk about our options in the latest two videos: kzbin.info/aero/PLG5yS75HLzo0i302yrCcDcE7Eykhia4l8

[@chrissheathewoodguy]

haul in 2 ft of clay. dig down some if need be first... much cheaper..

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

It's actually cheaper to buy bentonite clay.

[@paconrail1238]

Funny, as this comes out we're in a tornado warning in Northwest Fl!

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

We've got a lot of rain since this video. Storm just went over our house....luckily no tornadoes here!

[@onecleancl]

My property is flooded in Gainesville

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

@@onecleancl It's been a wet winter.

[@tonymartin6559]

Or try damit, other pond people have

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

We did. Here is that video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHbahIedZsaCjcU

[@Longtail_edits]

Damn it, won’t seal if it leaks like this. They advise benonite first

[@andrealaphilippe5926]

A well if allowed , is not a bad idea to have as a backup for the pond or the house if you’re planning to stay there long term (15+ years). I don’t know how much it costs in Florida but I assume you hit water pretty fast there? In Texas a new well will cost 20k+ , with a minimum depth of 350 ft .

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

About 8K for 250' well here.

[@jordantrottier3882]

Why not dig it even deeper if you are going to have equipment there anyway?

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

It's too deep to be practical when it's full! Thanks for watching.

[@JD-hu9sg]

Your mom is cute for her age

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

You just like being a jerk?

[@khunmikeon858]

5th option.. fill in the pond and buy a lawnmower 😂

[@Gmgfjv]

That’s not a pond, that’s just a mud pit. 😂

[@billysmart24830732]

Did you kiss the bruise better?

[@1wide9111]

Ive wasted so much money on bentonite and polymers trying to seal my pond,,,IT DONT WORK. Let the pond drain and dry, bring in some red clay with dump trucks and rent a compactor. In the long run its the only way. Cheaper than a 8k liner. Good luck I know how frustrating it is to pay for a new pond that wont hold water.

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

Or fill it in!

[@1wide9111]

@@PineyGroveHomestead I just noticed this vid is old, how is the pond doing now?

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

@@1wide9111 It's in the background of our latest videos. Lots of rain....6' deep

[@1wide9111]

@@PineyGroveHomestead I check it out. Do you think it is holding?

[@tbjtbj4786]

If what ever you do doesn't work. Think about a real old school thing. Put a fince around the pond put some hogs in it and let them pack the soil

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

After the last bucket test, we think the bentonite clay will work. Just need time to get it installed properly!

[@jimmyyounger618]

Back when I had my pond dug out to improve the depth, one of my cousins asked me the same thing! Apparently hogs are the critter of choice because a) they enjoy mud holes and b) their weight to hoof size does a good job of compaction. The issue mentioned on a conservation site was the waste they leave behind causes huge alge blooms for years.

[@javiertorres7460]

I've been watching you guys for a while. And I like your channel. My advice to you is bite the bullet and bringing red clay and line the whole bottom of the pond and the edges and get it over with.

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

We're probably going to do the bentonite blanket. We're just preparing ourselves mentally and financially for it!!

[@boardwalkbw7130]

You just need ducks

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

That would be cool!

[@garyjohn316]

Could you pump the water out and fill that deep end of the pond and fill it up with your best of the three soil types and track it in really well. If you cant find a reasonable cost effective way, I would just take your losses and move on. Bless you guys, hope there is a solution!

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

We will push some of the clay towards the sandy area, but if we are going to pump it dry, might as well fix it right!

[@johnperry6318]

dig it out 4 foot save any good clay bring good clay in way cheaper than bentonite

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

It's already too deep! North end doesn't seem to have a clay bottom no matter how deep.

[@jefffrancis6824]

[@PineyGroveHomestead]

Right?!