Wednesday, January 14, 2015

A Cold Wet Mudhole

Winter is not the optimum time to be rebuilding a rubber lined pond. Between rain and snow and ice and cold and fog so thick it moves when you beat it with a stick, progress is slow. Add in a natural spring that needed to be captured and it is a wonder I am making any progress at all.

But it is winter and I have the time for it now - when the weathers cooperate.





















The current mud hole was a solid block of ice earlier this week. It melted and I was able to start trying to drain it again.





















The hope is, now that I have busted out the old wall and corralled the spring on top of a rubber liner that I will be able to drain the mud hole completely and get a new liner in for the newly enlarged pond without any water beneath that will cause the liner to float.

A spring is not like a hose spigot. The water doesn't come out from a distinct hole. Once I got under the huge boulder, the flow kept moving from side to side. I did my best to get it all. The good sign was the ground beneath the liner was already drying out. I can only pray there is not a main flow of the spring in the bottom of my mud hole.





















This pond rebuild has another little issue. The entire thing sits in a stone bowl. The 4 inch corrugated pipe I was hoping was connected to an old overflow drain wasn't. Now that I have captured the spring, this pond is going to need a sump pump for the over flow.

I sure hope I can make this thing work. Then it has to be made pretty.


4 comments:

Lola said...

Sounds like a big problem.

Jean Campbell said...

Is the word we are looking for "Seep"?

Lisa at Greenbow said...

What a mess. I wish you luck.

Christopher C. NC said...

It's a pain Lola, but solvable.

Jean this whole property is covered in seeps. There is another much larger pond and falls that needs rebuilding. I think it is out of my league from hearing what The Lady of The House wants. It has at least three seeps and another that needs to be directed to it.

It's tidier today Lisa. I'm now testing to see if I have conquered the spring.