Making a pond to hold water

[Welder Dave]

The property I'm getting and hoping to put a new MX track on has sand on top but I think if I dig down deep enough it is clay. The field is flat but in the back there are valleys that are lower and there are a few small ponds. I will need clay anyway so was thinking of stripping the sand off and digging a pond on the higher portion of the field. I'm hoping it would hold rain water and snow run off I could use for watering the track. I don't know if it will hold water though being higher? I realize it could evaporate but was thinking the hole could be 6' or more deep. The gravel pit said they would send a dozer over maybe a D6 or D7 which I think could make a 2000yd. pond pretty quick but maybe I'm wrong. I don't know if they would send an excavator over.

 

[fast_st]

Not sure i subscribe to dowsing but around here we have a fair bit of clay and that clay can contain channels from the glacial era, when they bust the surface they're called a spring, water can be from miles away. a deep trench cut could tell you if you have a water layer down there someplace not too deep. Any info from local well drillers? small gas pump might be more reliable for watering.

 

[HarleyHappy]

I have found that used drywall makes an excellent base for a small pond on a budget.
I have even used new drywall, just line it and the water decomposes it and leaves a nice gypsum retainer.
Of course Bentonite is the standard around here.

 

[fast_st]

I have found that used drywall makes an excellent base for a small pond on a budget.
I have even used new drywall, just line it and the water decomposes it and leaves a nice gypsum retainer.
Of course Bentonite is the standard around here.

just don't make a damned vernal pool by accident

 

[aighead]

Sounds to me like the dozer would be worth a try, even if you have to pay for fuel and a case of beer for the operator. When I've looked into clay for my little 100'x60' (or something like that) pond, the suggestion was to scrape it out to fresh ground, which does have some clay in it but probably not enough, then add like a 6" layer of clay, sheepsfoot it, then add a layer of dirt, sheepsfoot it, then more clay, then more sheepsfoot. There are a lot of lucky places that just have feet of clay, I think I have trees around my pond that cause leaking problems too, regardless of the amount of clay I have.

Drywall? I don't remember what a sheet of drywall costs. I wonder if that'd be a good base to put liner over (is that what you are saying Harley?)? I worry about tree roots and critters digging up through the bottom if I line my pond.

 

[HarleyHappy]

Sheet of drywall when I did my pond in TN was 3 or 4 bucks but I lucked out and had a house nearby that was being torn down and got most of that out. Had to buy 20 or so sheets and doubled it up.
After the pond filled, I put a Scott Aerator I had found used on CL and put in some underground conduit, with a timer.

 

[KSSS]

We did that in North Dakota when we farmed. My dad would push out a small pond in a slough area. We would use it to water cattle and pull water out of it to spray chemical on the fields. It also created an area where wildlife would gather. However, just putting it on top of a hill, I am not sure would work. It all depends on the water table and how much snow run off you get. Being on the high point of the property, tells me it would not be as effective. There, once you got through the black dirt, the soil was a yellow type clay. Held water like a pond liner, we never added any clay or did a liner.

 

[Welder Dave]

I need to dig a test hole with the backhoe to see how much sand is on top and what's underneath it. Might be better digging another pond in the low section except I don't want to dig wet clay I can't use until it dries out. Another idea I had was to dig part of the bank above the low area away basically moving the bank back further. I need clay for building jumps and stuff.

 

[aighead]

My wife has given me the ok to dig a hole in the yard, after I said I missed having a pool. I'm considering a redneck pool lined with a big tarp I have, and I already have pool filter stuff. I haven't been great at maintaining past pools, and she's understandably skeptical that I'll have that issue again, so we'll see if it happens. At least if I don't take care of it I can just yank the tarp out and fill in the hole. I just want something cool that I can float in and go underwater, but I don't want to spend any money.

 

[HarleyHappy]

^^^^^ Good luck, I have tried the exact same thing.
When it pours out and water starts getting under your makeshift liner, even from ground water pushing in, you’re going to be filling it back in.
Look up dumpster pools or septic tank pools but everything costs money.
Use the backhoe to level an area and buy a Walmart China blow up pool for 200 bucks and it will last at least 3 years, if you take care of it.

 

[CM1995]

My wife has given me the ok to dig a hole in the yard, after I said I missed having a pool. I'm considering a redneck pool lined with a big tarp I have, and I already have pool filter stuff. I haven't been great at maintaining past pools, and she's understandably skeptical that I'll have that issue again, so we'll see if it happens. At least if I don't take care of it I can just yank the tarp out and fill in the hole. I just want something cool that I can float in and go underwater, but I don't want to spend any money.

Build a concrete block pool. They do it all the time in Central America.

Pour a concrete bottom with rebar stood up. Block the walls in and fill with concrete tile the pool and be done.

Amazingly strong and even survive earthquakes that will slosh a foot of water out of - witnessed that.

 

[aighead]

I thought about water underneath and thought I could maybe dig a bucket sized hole to stick a bucket with a hose in to then suck the water out from underneath...

We've had a couple of the Chinesium plastic above ground pools and they seem to be tree magnets or rust buckets or at least that has been our results.

I'm trying to go for free and easily fill-inable for when I inevitably let it rot. I probably will just dream and get a bathtub or something.

 

[HarleyHappy]

Honestly I would be more concerned about any exposure for just digging a hole in the ground but hey, good luck and be safe.
When it’s really crappy like it is right now, I fill up the kids/ dogs plastic 5’ round pool and put the chair in the water, a bucket of ice and some beer with a rotating frozen mug.