permaculture

[Javan Kerby Bernakevitch <jk.bernakevitch@gmail.com>]

Howdy Permaculture folks,

I'm located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada near Shawnigan
Lake at OUR Ecovillage. (www.ourecovillage.org) And we're in need of
experiential advice on fixing a leaky pond.

Preliminary research showed that a gley method would be appropriate however
my design perimeters are as follows:

   - must be completed by March 24th (average weather in Feb and March,
   highs of 12C / 53.6F and lows of 1C / 33.8F with 100mm of rain monthly)
   (thus the gley approach will not work in these temperatures)
   - Pond is 83' by 45'
   - dug in 2007
   - blue-grey clay applied by machine in 2008 and finished by human hand
   - pond did not hold water in summer 2008 or 2009 (which for the Muscovy
   ducks is an issue)

Our thought is that in 2008 the water source for the pond (shower and
washing machine - blueberry patch - man made bathtub wetlands - pond) was
diverted, drying up the pond. We think the lack of water dried up the clay,
creating cracks and a leaky pond.

With a budget of $1500 we are looking at the most efficient solution that
has been tested before. If you've had experience using Bentonite Clay to
seal a leaky pond (experience in application amounts for broadcasting the
powdered form of Bentonite or tilling the granular or chip form into soil)
or experience in sealing a leaky pond reply away.

So there you have it, one ecovillage in need of pond superhero with
experience in sealing leaky ponds...

Thanks.

Javan

-- 
Javan Kerby Bernakevitch