Leaking Dams

5 posts
Thu, 06/25/2015 - 15:23 #1

Member for

9 years 6 months
Nikki-2
Last seen: 06/25/2015 - 16:50
Joined: 06/25/2015 - 15:09

Leaking Dams

Hi,

 

my husband and I purchase last Nov a 108 acres of what is my dream property.            The previous owner was running just over 400 sheep right up to the day until the sale was finalised,  naturally,  everything was overgrazed.     The 2 existing dams he assured us they were exceptional, ( 1 being 2 yrs old) and the creek had water in it 80% of the year.   Neither true.

From the first day we began new fencing and allowing the land to recover,   planting trees,  shrubs etc.    We have built sheds & have 5x  20 000gl tanks.   Our plan is to run a few sheep and our 3 cows.                  Water is our main issue,         the dams leak,  neither was built well,  in rocky/granite soil,    both in the wrong location,  meaning no run off is ever possible

Due to the fact that he had so many sheep on the property before and at time of sale,  we assumed that the sheep must have kept them low.            

We have town water pipes which run through our property,   our neighbour has town water,   upon application,   Council has rejected our application for water, ( only for stock use)

We have tried Polymer Solutions,     they immediatley recommended that we fill up one of our dams as it is useless,   the other has a stream underneath it which draws water out,    we did try their product,   but as suggested by them,  it would give no result.

 

What to do now?    we have not allowed for such expenditure as new dams ( trusting the previous owner and paying for 2 quality dams)    predictions are that we will have a very dry season

Any suggestions what to do with our water or better said no water situation

 

Thank you

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Thu, 06/25/2015 - 15:49 #2
barb
Last seen: 09/17/2019 - 18:07
Joined: 11/23/2011 - 09:38

Hi,

I will never understand the way that some people will say anything to get someone to buy their property. In law there is a saying, Let the buyer beware. However, that doesn't help when you have been ripped off. What to do about it? There are a few options that come to mind. Each will depend upon how big the dam is. Also maybe some one else on the site may have some better advice than the following.

 

The first solution if the dam isn't too large, is to  line it with a dam liner. The second is to empty a large ammount of betonite into the bottom and around the sides of the dam. Betonite will be drawn into the cracks and porous areas of the dam by the escaping water, where it will swell in contact with the water and block up the porous areas and cracks in the dam. If you can stop the water escaping then if the other "useless" dam is not too far away from the other one and it can be lined if it is leaking too, either with a liner or Bentonite, then you could pump water from the one which is picking up water from run off etc and pump it to the one which is not picking up water. This one will then just act as a storage tank- the same as Turkies nests do in the out back. You could also check if it is possible to put a bore down on the property. This needs a licence and is subject to local state laws.

 

We will all be very interested to know how you get on with this problem. I hope some of these off the cuff thoughts help.

Kind regards,

Barb

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Thu, 06/25/2015 - 16:50 #3
Nikki-2
Last seen: 06/25/2015 - 16:50
Joined: 06/25/2015 - 15:09

Hi Barb,

 

thank you for your very quick response.     Very true regarding 'buyer beware'    we thought that we had taken all measures before purchasing property,  had our solicitor look into absolutely everything,   land, soil, easements, disease, developements, etc,     the worse part is we even phoned Council to querie that the dams were legal  ( as owner said they were near 'new')  just to make sure that everything was above board,                    however we trusted the owner when he said that they fill up 'to the brim' easy,  etc,      as he is living less than 1km from us,  why would someone not tell the truth,   so we thought,     anyway,    totally,  to anyone buying a property   really take care !

We approached Polymer Solutions as their product is similar to betonite just easier to use,    they deal with Councils, mines, etc and very verse in this aspect,          they told us that the 1st dam was absolutely useless,  no help with that one and the 2nd we could try their product but do not see it being fixed.             The dams are extremely large,   and certainly put in the wrong places,   our property is flat and hilly,   they decided to do the dams in the only granite area on site which was obviously a mistake

 

Thank you for your suggestion,   we might have to give lining a go,      piping the water to tanks would be great if there was enough water to justify in laying the pipes, etc

and yes,   a bore will have to come into serious consideration as a property with no water is useless.

 

Once again,  thank you for replying and will keep in touch with what we are doing,   will down the track add some photos.         I hope I have placed this reply in the right section

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Thu, 06/25/2015 - 16:50 #4
Nikki-2
Last seen: 06/25/2015 - 16:50
Joined: 06/25/2015 - 15:09

Hi Barb,

 

thank you for your very quick response.     Very true regarding 'buyer beware'    we thought that we had taken all measures before purchasing property,  had our solicitor look into absolutely everything,   land, soil, easements, disease, developements, etc,     the worse part is we even phoned Council to querie that the dams were legal  ( as owner said they were near 'new')  just to make sure that everything was above board,                    however we trusted the owner when he said that they fill up 'to the brim' easy,  etc,      as he is living less than 1km from us,  why would someone not tell the truth,   so we thought,     anyway,    totally,  to anyone buying a property   really take care !

We approached Polymer Solutions as their product is similar to betonite just easier to use,    they deal with Councils, mines, etc and very verse in this aspect,          they told us that the 1st dam was absolutely useless,  no help with that one and the 2nd we could try their product but do not see it being fixed.             The dams are extremely large,   and certainly put in the wrong places,   our property is flat and hilly,   they decided to do the dams in the only granite area on site which was obviously a mistake

 

Thank you for your suggestion,   we might have to give lining a go,      piping the water to tanks would be great if there was enough water to justify in laying the pipes, etc

and yes,   a bore will have to come into serious consideration as a property with no water is useless.

 

Once again,  thank you for replying and will keep in touch with what we are doing,   will down the track add some photos.         I hope I have placed this reply in the right section

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Mon, 06/29/2015 - 14:31 #5
dam-sealers
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 06/26/2015 - 18:55

Hi All,

 

Damming is one of the easiest ways to create a large dam. By using excess dirt from the pond dig to shore up what would otherwise be a drainage ditch or runoff point, you save yourself vast amounts of time and effort. However, in instances where the dirt that is used to dam these runoff points is comprised of loose, clay-less soil, leaks can often develop which hinder the overall viability of the pond. Addressing these leaks is fairly easy, though, and a little troubleshooting will help you solve the problem directly. Dams leaking water through seepage may require one of several different solutions to overcome the problem.

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