Wall collapse.

[Neo]

Within the last 24 hours we have gotten over 10 inches of rain and are expecting at least 5 more, possibly another 10. During a lull in the rain I ran out to check the pond and about half of the wall, about 5 feet long had totally collapsed allowing lots and lots of water under the liner.

We actually had so much rain that I think the water under the liner pushed pond water from inside out and over to add to the problem. I pumped most of the water out and it drained the pond about 6 inches then refilled a little bit but not much and added some stuff for the chlorine.

Is there any way to rebuild the wall? and can it be done without draining the pond? Unfortunately I don't have enough excess liner to make the pond that much bigger either so I'm at a loss to what to do at this point..

Just for now I'm going to sandbag the back fence to keep the water coming later today from adding to problem.



The wall that fell is the one on the left by the heron spitter. It was probably about 5 feet long down the side and maybe 8 inches out.

 

[addy1]

Darn that sucks. You could pull the liner forward and put dirt behind it, not sure if you could pack it tight enough. From what is sounds like you will need to find dirt to replace that washed out It might be under the liner making the pond shallower.

 

[capewind]

I know how you are feeling ... hubby lost a day on a client install for a minor wash thanks to all the rain ... Thankfully in hubby's case it was an easy fix (just a small area of shelf let go, but had to drain the pond down to work behind the liner) ... Can you take GOOD pictures of the affected area, as well as what your DIRT looks like (clay, sand?)? Also, what are all the dimensions of your pond ... L x W x D ... There are a few tricks, just need to basics on your pond to be able to help ...

 

[DrCase]

Mortar bed and concrete blocks

 

[Dave 54]

Pesonally I'd now look into wooden fencing to solve your problem , we hope non of your fish are injured or dead its a shame its a real nice pond .

rgrds

Dave

 

[HTH]

This will not help with this cave in but it may help others. If one has the pond extend above ground even a few inches it ensures that the water pressure inside the liner will always be greater then the pressure outside. With really saturated ground you may still have problems but it should prevent most of them.

 

[Neo]

Pesonally I'd now look into wooden fencing to solve your problem , we hope non of your fish are injured or dead its a shame its a real nice pond .

rgrds

Dave

Fish are all OK and accounted for! luckily.

I've been going out (between the lightning and tornado warnings) and pumping the water out from under the liner. another concern is the new water I keep having to add. I just tested my water the day before this all started and everything was pretty good for a newer pond.

I may have to try blocks to build the side back up. It is clay soil and really tough to work with, I'll try to get pics tomorrow but right now it's such a muddy mess I can't even tell what is what. I think the sandbags have kept most of tonight's water out so far but we are getting pounded with storms, I've been posting underground from the storm cellar.

 

[BlueOrca]

This will not help with this cave in but it may help others. If one has the pond extend above ground even a few inches it ensures that the water pressure inside the liner will always be greater then the pressure outside. With really saturated ground you may still have problems but it should prevent most of them.

You have just described my pond ( which is nearly identical to NEO's pond) except for my pond is about 3 inches above grade, and we have had several heavy rain storms in the last few days. You have given me one less thing to worry about HTH, thanks!

My original plans for the pond included a rock wall/waterfall weir at the one end (similar to NEO"s), but I scrapped the idea due to the added weight being right over the near vertical wall of the pond....which made me fearful of that wall caving in.

 

[Neo]

So far so good this morning despite over 7 more inches of rain last night! I was surprised to find no water under liner at all so the sandbags must have worked! My next step is to drain a little out of the pond and figure out what is left of the wall to work with and figure out a way to stop the water from coming in from behind my backyard so it doesn't happen again. I think I may have enough liner left to reach where the wall fell also.

 

[Neo]

I know how you are feeling ... hubby lost a day on a client install for a minor wash thanks to all the rain ... Thankfully in hubby's case it was an easy fix (just a small area of shelf let go, but had to drain the pond down to work behind the liner) ... Can you take GOOD pictures of the affected area, as well as what your DIRT looks like (clay, sand?)? Also, what are all the dimensions of your pond ... L x W x D ... There are a few tricks, just need to basics on your pond to be able to help ...

Sorry capewind forgot to answer your post. The pond is 14 x 7 and 2 feet deep. the soil is clay. I'll drain the pond down some, pull the liner back, and take a pic later. I'm just waiting for the yard to dry up a little first. Yesterday some parts of the yard were almost ankle deep from flash flooding.