Using Pigs to Seal a Pond

[Tango]

Hi ya'll,

another long stretch since I've been here but not so long as before. Hope you've all been well; I find I am liking my solitude more and more but when I need help it means coming here. And I need help again. The swimming hole I had dug last year does not hold water. It looked solid and sound with red clay packed in by a dozer but something about it allows water to filter. I have spoken to a dozer guy who has done some really good work for me and also a company that sells a sealant and the opinion seems to be a structural thing. I saw this pond being dug and I saw it empty for several weeks and it looked solid but it might be some silt instead fo clay in some places. Liners and sealers are way out of the question in price - the pond is 60 x 80 plus since i don't actually know why it is leaking, I may be throwing money out with the water. So I thought of the gleing technique where pigs are put out to wallow and the manure and compression packs in the bottom and sides. My question is, is this swimmable after the pigs are taken out? Or is that water always gonna be crap even years later? I am thinking it will dry up this month- its pretty low. Maybe if it dries after the pigs are removed, and refills it will be okay to swim? Not sure so I am asking.

[MO_cows]

I never heard of using pigs. What I have heard of, catfish. Several people have mentioned, when the subject of ponds comes up, that nothing seals a pond as well as catfish. So, it's only heresay, but I have heard it more than once from different sources.

It must be frustrating, hope you get it figured out.

[highlands]

I've done it. Repeatedly. It works. It is an old traditional method. I would not swim in it for several years though and not drink from it for longer. Fine as a pond for field irrigation to begin with. Find for making pig ponds. They leave the soil very, er, rich.

I'm just picky about where I drink from and swim so I don't swim in the pig ponds.

Cheers,

-Walter

[7thswan]

Benzonite-whatever that is.

[coolrunnin]

Originally Posted by 7thswan

Benzonite-whatever that is.

You mean bentonite clay.

[FakeMountainMan]

I was discussing ponds the other day with a fellow who said geese. I don't think you could pay me to swim in a pig lagoon.

[Tango]

certainly will not drink from it... was hoping it would be swimmable after a while though otherwise no point.
fyi, i had both ducks and catfish in a pond before and after 5 years the pond was not sealed so i don't recommend them as reliable to seal a pond
will look into the cost of bentonite, thanks ya'll.

[Darren]

Bentonite is the major component in driller's mud. Find a company that specializes in serving the oil and gas industry. That's the easiest way to find it.

[Wolf mom]

Ask at a rock quarry if you have one near you. We have cinder pits here and most guys know where all stuff like bentonite clay is mined or where to get some.

[1shotwade]

Back to the "pigs" idea. I have always heard that the hooves of pigs and deer tend to "cut" into the surface and by doing so will kill the roots of trees and eventually the trees will die.I know this to be true about deer as a guy I know killed his 23 acre woods of oak by raising deer there. It is also said they are good for sealing a pond but my understanding is that the hooves cut deep into the "keyway" and compress the clay to stop the leaks.
I do know in construction equipment they have a "sheeps foot" and a " pigs foot " roller that are used for compression purposes.


Wade

[gila_dog]

I was once told by a county extension agent that to seal a new pond first put down a layer of bentonite. How thick I don't know. Then, before adding any water, start feeding some hay to some cattle in the pond. Scatter it around over a period of time, letting the cows walk around in there eating the hay. I'm not sure how long to do this, but eventually they will mash the waste hay down into the bentonite and really pack it down. I don't see why the same thing wouldn't work using pigs. Except that maybe they will root around and dig up the bentonite, making thin spots, so that it doesn't make a uniform layer on the bottom.

[highlands]

On a related note, one of the ponds I build I did not use our pigs for. This is our water reservoir and we swim in it - thus no pigs. The soil there I tested at 20% clay. It sealed up right nice all by itself after about two years. Evaporation is more of an issue than leakage during low water supply times. We currently have two springs feeding it at the rate of about 10 gallons a minute. That pond acts as a reservoir for distributing water out to livestock waterers in the paddocks.

So, 20% clay in the soil naturally resulted in a self sealing pond with nothing special done but digging a hole and smoothing it out.

-Walter

See:
http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2006/08/01/new-upper-pond/
http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2007/11/02/u...-sunrise-moon/
http://images.google.com/images?q=si...nfarm.com+pond

[fordy]

Originally Posted by Tango

Hi ya'll,

another long stretch since I've been here but not so long as before. Hope you've all been well; I find I am liking my solitude more and more but when I need help it means coming here. And I need help again. The swimming hole I had dug last year does not hold water. It looked solid and sound with red clay packed in by a dozer but something about it allows water to filter. I have spoken to a dozer guy who has done some really good work for me and also a company that sells a sealant and the opinion seems to be a structural thing. I saw this pond being dug and I saw it empty for several weeks and it looked solid but it might be some silt instead fo clay in some places. Liners and sealers are way out of the question in price - the pond is 60 x 80 plus since i don't actually know why it is leaking, I may be throwing money out with the water. So I thought of the gleing technique where pigs are put out to wallow and the manure and compression packs in the bottom and sides. My question is, is this swimmable after the pigs are taken out? Or is that water always gonna be crap even years later? I am thinking it will dry up this month- its pretty low. Maybe if it dries after the pigs are removed, and refills it will be okay to swim? Not sure so I am asking.

.............Tango , If you have a drilling rig nearby , ask them WHO hauls off their old drilling mud ? It contains bentonite(sp) , they usually haul it in regular tanker trucks . Call the company and see IF they will bring however many loads it will take to seal your tank . They , PAY land owners to dump it on the surface and then they spread it out . It is very slick , kinda like greased Owl dodo , lol . You'll have to find someone with a small dozer to spread it out over the surface of the tank . The tanker contractor\hauler may even send someone out to your place to survey the location to make sure the truck can get in and out without any problems . , fordy

[jwal10]

Bentonite works very well, I used dry, spread it over the pond and then rototilled it into the top 3"s. Then ran a sprocket roller over the soil, may need to add moisture to pack if very dry. I used a lawn sprinkler. Roll until solid. Most ponds that I built were just clay layer on top, packed with a sheeps foot roller but 2 needed the bentonite on the dam side. If using bentonite you need to remove all vegetative matter, when it decomposes it leaves a hole that will weep water....James

[fishhead]

Pigs have a high psi because of the size of their hooves. That compacts soil.

Almost any organic matter will form a film on the bottom and seal the pond over time. I've even heard of natural ponds that were formed from tree leaves accumulating.

A pond full of carp would probably seal it up too.

I wouldn't worry about swimming in it the next year. The manure will only last for so long and after that it's just nutrients like any other organic matter.

[Tabitha]

I know I have told that story before. OUtside of our town, nice house, big pond in front, only it was dry as a bone. The owner put a sign up, no swimming.
He gave pigs a try and now he has a nice pond . You can see it from the road.