Newly dug pond full of water before liner fitted

[mrbenbod]

Hi,
I recently excavated a pond but before I had chance to line the thing with sand/underlay/liner etc it mysteriously filled up with water (........impish leprechauns, or maybe all the rain we have had? Who knows).
I have very heavy clay soil, really heavy, took an age of backbreaking work to dig the thing out (....get your violins out).

I was wondering if it's possible that the pond might hold water without the need of liner etc.
I've read about using clay to line ponds (puddling I think is the term), but I didn't endeavor in this process.
I dug a large hole and it filled up with water!
The water level doesn't appear to have dropped in the last 48 hours and it hasn't rained in that time (to the best of my knowledge).
The water is very cloudy (brown in fact), I suppose it's bound to be really.
The pond is intended as a wildlife pond, not to keep fish, it has a deep(ish) central section and shallow pools, and gentle edges.

So three questions:
1) Is it possible that it will hold the water without liner (and without puddling the clay)? I guess time will tell, but maybe someone has had a similar experience.
2) If so, will the water eventually clear (bearing in mind it's not lined)?
3) Do leprechauns exist?

[Wild-Woman]

Do you think you may have an underground spring? My Nan had one of these that actually ran under her property years ago until the water was abstracted from a local wood. ( Council said the area had a high water table so yours may be able to tell you)
As for your questions, natural ponds don't have liners so you may be lucky!
Water clears once suitable plants introduced and the balance is correct. This may take some time though, and it's possible to have problems once sunlight is on it. Our pond usually has a spell of this in the summer.
As for leprechauns-after a few Guinness's I expect they do!

[coasty]

The fact that you soil is clay points to the fact that you could just have a high water table. However of course the down side would be if we have a long dry summer then the level would drop and topping it up would not be an option as the clay would simply absorb it.

If you live in a low lying area with other natural ponds about it could be worthwhile just seeing how it gos over the first year especially as it is intended for wildlife....That is certainly what I would try and do....If you intend to plant around it be very careful with the species you pick as they could quickly completely fill a small pond .. and once rhyzome type roots get into the clay you will never eradicate them....

Personally I think it sounds like you are very lucky,,,

[Cotham Marble]

[quote=mrbenbod;262720] Is it possible that it will hold the water without liner (and without puddling the clay)?QUOTE]

Unless you had very heavy rain it's unlikely that that is what filled your pond, far more likely is that your garden lies close to the top of the local water table. The actual height of the table will vary seasonally so although you have water now, that may not be the case later in the year.

Springs are a more difficult question, some can be 'unfailing' but you would need to investigate your local geology to understand if you are likely to have a spring. Given you are on clay you would likely need to have some higher ground nearby, made up of porous rock to act as a reservoir.

Relying on puddling as a sealant is likely to be problematic if you are going to be planting into the puddled layer - effectively this would breach the seal. My suggestion would be to wait for a spell of relatively warm dry weather and note how the water level changes - a drop of 10% or more in 24 hours almost certainly means you wil need a liner in the long term.

CM

[Kayleigh]

My friend dug a pond and put the liner in, next day the liner was floating on top. So she removed it.
In summer the water level drops in her "natural pond" the clay all dries up around the edge and has big cracks and it just refills itself with mud. So she has to constantly re dig it out.


I would keep any plants in baskets/pots for easy removal.

[Jez]

So mixing a good load of sand in to the clay for better drainage wouldn't help at all?

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Jez

So mixing a good load of sand in to the clay for better drainage wouldn't help at all?

I told my friend to put gravel in hers to clear the water OOps

[Jez]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

I told my friend to put gravel in hers to clear the water OOps

Just because you wanted the better looking pond I guess?

[dampflippers]

It may be that the water table is high.

I would leave it for a while to see what happens. If you can afford to leave it into the summer months, you should get a better picture. If you can manage without a liner you can get a much more natural edge, and have better success with bog plants and marginals around it.

Puddling was tradidoionally done my sheep, but you can just walk round and round it with a few friends.

But a warning, if it dries out and the clay cracks, then you might get leaks.

[martin_25]

Ah somebody else experiencing the same problem as myself!!

A couple of months ago while the weather was relatively fine I began digging a pond in the garden, and I had almost dug it to a relatively sensible depth, (yes, digging a pond hardly does wonders for your back!!) and was hoping to get some liner that week. But alas, the heavens opened, and because where I live holds the slightest bit of rain due to the water table, the pond has been filled with stagnant water since!!!!

But its finally starting to drain away now, and as soon as it does i'm going to have one massive push and get it finished complete with liner in a day or two....well thats the plan anyway!!!!

Martin

[snoozebob]

I have a natural clay pond, (has just been enlarged to about 25'x14'), no liner at all and is totally happy and self sustaining. They take an age to clear but will become appreciabley clear - one frog plop tho' and all your patience goes out of the window.!! The colour changes a clay pond goes thro' can be a little alarming tho'. Just smile and have a G & T!! Before having it made bigger ( with a large digger I confess) I had 3 koi (2 huge) and 2 young goldfish. Oh yes, 2 albino carp too. Never saw them tho' unless up for feed, as they stirred everything so much. Any suggestions from anyone for top feeders that may not disturb the clay too much would be much appreciated, I would love to have some fish back - they have never warred with the frogs, toads etc.

[Davy Crockett]

Dear Mr Benbod, I can't answer 1 & 2 but i do know leprechauns exist, i live in the wild wood and have seen them
at night, on my land.
Cheers Crockett