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We’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of the pond since it was renovated, but it decided to spring a leak through the dam last summer. I’m pretty sure there are some elm tree roots that penetrated into the spot where the dam was patched after all the digging was finished. The tree died and now that the roots have begun to decay it’s leaking water through those voids. It will spend the next 2-3 weeks draining all of the new water it got last night out onto my lawn before the level stabilizes.

There’s a plan coming together in my binky little brain on how to repair it without draining the whole thing and re-working the entire dam.

I *think* that I can plug it by using a mini excavator to cut a new keyway down through the top of the dam far enough to get below the leak, then re-pack the keyway with the clay that came out along with copious amounts of sodium bentonite and a few hundred pounds of a cross-link polymer called SoilFloc. I’ve got a bit more research to do and will likely get a professional consult before I start throwing benjamins at it.

That’s Miss Booger standing on the dock trying to be coy while I was taking pictures. She’s Australian Shepherd, 3 1/2 years old, and an absolutely wonderful dog when she’s not attempting to herd the grandkids. lol