I fixed my leaking dam (with Watersave)

Mark

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Great news! I found an easy fix for my leaking dam (or pond) with a product called Watersave. I mentioned the issue in my Built a small dam for my ducks thread.

It's a granulated substance that changes into a gel when added to water. This gel attaches and mixes to the dam or pond walls and base to make a waterproof seal - it has worked like a charm in my dam :yahoo:

It's easy to apply and is just a matter of spreading the granules over the surface - I concentrated a little extra on the dam wall.

The stuff is made by Polymere Innovations and is called Water$ave (with a dollar sign) or Watersave and I used the "Seep" product because my main leak was caused by the water seeping through my dam wall rather than cracks or holes.

It cost me $270 for a 10 kg bucket and I got it here on eBay

Here's a short article I wrote about how I fixed the leak

Here's a video
 

Mark

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Thanks for that, something to remember
Yeah, I'm wrapped with the results!

I've since been told there's another product called Betonite clay (in powdered form) which apparently is used in a similar way and when sprinkled into the dam the clay settles and seals it. Actually, I'd be interested to hear if anyone has used the Betonite clay powdered stuff and what sort of results they got...
 

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The ducks are drinking all the water! They look like they're on a mission when on their way to the dam.

Is it still going ok?
It's going really great mate! I'm laying some large rocks around the back of the dam wall it not only looks better and reinforces the wall but it stops the ducks from eating out the mud and making holes. I'll post some pics soon to show what I'm up too...
 

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So as I said above the ducks are eating away the inside of the dam wall! :shock: The pic below shows the rocks in place but I've just got another 3 ton of granite because I really need more rocks to do the job properly otherwise the dam wall will collapse!

Unfortunately, the holes the ducks were putting in the wall started to make it leak again so I've treated the wall again with watersave and kept the ducks out until I finish laying all the rocks. I think I'll lay a few hardwood logs around the edge too to help stop any erosion or digging from the ducks or chooks - hopefully, I'll have a win....

First layer of rocks in the background.​
rocks duck pond.jpg
 

Mark

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Well I've pretty much completed the job now on duck proofing the dam wall and I think it has been a complete success! Here is the finished product with a video at the end :)
duck dam with chickens side view.jpg
duck dam with rooster.jpg
duck dive in dam.jpg
duck swimming in dam 2.jpg
duck swimming in dam.jpg
duck dam with chickens.jpg
ducks mating.jpg


 

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Hi, I've recently acquired 5 ducks and 2 geese so dug out a small pond for them. It has a clay base but the side walls leak out as its top soil. I've dug a channel to catch the water off the road and it catches a great amount of water but it seeps out below the top soil before morning. How would/could I fix this issue? Could I sprinkle this watersaver before a storm or would it just wash in or is there another option?
 

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This question was also answered on the blog in the comments section (link in first post) but here's the answer:
Hi, and thanks for your question. You could do two things: line the walls with pond liner or use WaterSave. If you use pond liner make sure it's good quality and secure the top of the liner with large rocks to keep it in place. If you decide to use WaterSave then this must be applied when your pond is full (but do not apply in the pouring rain or wind) and concentrate the powder around the pond walls. The product will then mix with the topsoil and penetrate the wall stopping leaks. NOTE If your birds are habitually eating into the pond walls I would go for pond liner. I hope this info helps you fix your pond/dam and congrats for getting ducks & geese! Cheers :)
 

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Well, it's time for me to revisit this thread because there are some good update points to share :)

Firstly, although the watersave product and rocks worked for several months my ducks constant billing away at the inside of the rear dam wall was causing it to leak again and empty down to ground level where it stabilised and didn't leak any further. It was obvious I needed to line the walls with pond liner to prevent the ducks eating it away but due to the cyclone up north and the worsening weather I only had time to line the main problem area which was the back wall so hopefully this is all that is needed.

Here's the dam yesterday - pretty sad...

dam duck leaking 800.jpg


So I removed the rocks and used a medium sized 4 x 3 prepackaged pond liner exactly the same as this on eBay cut the liner in half to make two lengths of 2 x 3 metres and placed it on the back wall securing it with rocks. Fingers crossed this will be enough, but if the dam continues to leak down too fast I will have to cut some roots back and do both side walls the same way.

dam pond liner for wall.jpg


Here's the dam today. With all this rain SE QLD is getting, it didn't take long to fill up!

dam duck pond liner full.jpg


I'll have to see how it goes over the next few months to see if the pond liner really has helped significantly.
 
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