Question about building up pond dam

[sghoghunter]

When my pond was dug forty years ago one corner of it was left lower than the others I’m guessing so it would run out into a wet bottom. Well I noticed a few months ago that it’s running over the dam maybe 20 foot then going underground where it’s started washing out. I’m wanting to put down a pipe then build up maybe a foot. My question is would I need to build it up with a heavy clay dirt or would regular ole fill dirt do?

 

[Ray357]

When my pond was dug forty years ago one corner of it was left lower than the others I’m guessing so it would run out into a wet bottom. Well I noticed a few months ago that it’s running over the dam maybe 20 foot then going underground where it’s started washing out. I’m wanting to put down a pipe then build up maybe a foot. My question is would I need to build it up with a heavy clay dirt or would regular ole fill dirt do?

If it has to hold water, clay.

 

[sghoghunter]

If it has to hold water, clay.

I forgot to post the pics but I just added them. It doesn’t have to hold water like the dam itself. My idea is to put in the pipe and keep the water at the level it is now.

 

[Ray357]

I forgot to post the pics but I just added them. It doesn’t have to hold water like the dam itself. My idea is to put in the pipe and keep the water at the level it is now.

Pretty much anything with low sand content should work.

 

[Whitefeather]

When my pond was dug forty years ago one corner of it was left lower than the others I’m guessing so it would run out into a wet bottom. Well I noticed a few months ago that it’s running over the dam maybe 20 foot then going underground where it’s started washing out. I’m wanting to put down a pipe then build up maybe a foot. My question is would I need to build it up with a heavy clay dirt or would regular ole fill dirt do?

That’s probably your emergency spillway. I would recommend not filling it in and piping it. May be just pour a concrete slab at the same elevation as it is now. Without doing a hydro study, but just guessing your emergency spillway being piped would need to be a fairly large pipe. If concrete is out of the question then, install a filter fabric under a riprap lined channel at the same elevation it is now. But, to answer your original question, any compacted soil will work but, clay definitely is preferred.

 

[Jeff C.]

Good suggestions by Whitefeather above.

 

[Throwback]

We are hopefully getting two of ours repaired this week. One for the same problem. It is probably 60+ years old.
The other was done on the cheap in the 1980’s and just had a drain pipe on one side installed. That one has since rusted out and is causing a mess. It’s a small pond.

 

[sghoghunter]

That’s probably your emergency spillway. I would recommend not filling it in and piping it. May be just pour a concrete slab at the same elevation as it is now. Without doing a hydro study, but just guessing your emergency spillway being piped would need to be a fairly large pipe. If concrete is out of the question then, install a filter fabric under a riprap lined channel at the same elevation it is now. But, to answer your original question, any compacted soil will work but, clay definitely is preferred.

Concrete isn’t an option at this point. The main reason I’m wanting to do it is over the yrs of it running over it has washed out underground and coming out down the hill a little ways. My original idea was to lay down a couple layers of the fabric then get a load of some type of rock so the water could still run through and be able to still drive across

 

[paulito]

Is there no other way that water leaves the pond? If not, then i would not fill and pipe. I would go with the rip rap channel and go bigger and wider than you think.