How to block holes UNDER water?

[The Reverend Natural Light]

I recall something in the Drylock Fastplug instructions that mentioned under water use.

[Pounds on Wood]

Buy a beaver? (hey, you said any ideas)

--

******** Bill Pounds

[iolo]

There is a tiny stream running through my lawn and the previous owner of my house decided to turn it into a succession of six waterfalls and six ponds. When I moved in water was gurgling over each fall, from pool to pool, down the slope of the lawn. Two years later, however, only ONE waterfall is working. All of the other five walls (mini-dams) which he built out of small rocks and cement have developed leaks. Only one of the ponds is currently full - and that's the one that is sending excess water over the lip to fall into the next pond. But the rest of the ponds are only almost full - their water is moving from pond to pond through small holes in the walls. Each wall only has one or two holes.

To dry up the stream in preparation for concreting repairs, by emptying all the ponds, would be a back-breaking task, and anyway, diverting new incoming water would be difficult.

So, is there some thick substance which I can ram into each hole and which will then set solid, despite the pool of water on one side of hole and the wet conditions on the other?

I have concrete, of course. And I believe one can get hold of "plasticiser" to mix with it. But I am not sure if that's the solution and if it is I'm not sure what proportions to mix it in.

Any ideas most gratefully received!

[Goedjn]

Why would you need to dry up the stream in order to repair concrete?

[joe]

rubber roofing is about 1/8 in thick and cut to the size of the pool bottom will water proof the bottom and allow the water to run over the dam. rocks can then be put on this surface to hold it down and make look natural.

[John Hines]

There is a type of cement, called "hydraulic cement" which expands slightly when it cures, and is what plumbers have used to plug up drains and voids in underwater concrete.

[Red Cloud©]

Buy a wax toilet ring. Cut it into small chunks and press the chunks into the holes. The stuff is like VERY sticky putty, and will seal the leaks. I keep a couple on board my boat in case I ever put a hole in the bottom and need an instant patch. They are very inexpensive.

rusty redcloud

[Tim Fischer]

I'm not sure why nobody else mentioned this -- but concrete will set just fine underwater. You just have to pour it correctly (google for info).

-Tim

[speedymike]

I don't know how big the holes are that are leaking but bentonite is used in porus areas to help contain water. When it gets wet it swells, closing off some of the portals. You might try that. No guarentee...... Mike

iolo Wrote:

[Angrie.Woman]

You try posting in rec.ponds. They're quite nice, but under a heavy troll attack, so you're Usenet filters might need tweaking. If you can filter out everything that is posted to multiple groups, it shouldn't bother you at all.

A

[Nick Hull]

When I had a similiar problem in a pond, I just dumped crusher run into it to stop the leak. If a big hole, a couple of rocks first. Has worked well for me. I have no confidence in concrete, water undermines it too fast. If you have crayfish causing the problem, mix a bit of rock salt into the crusher run, salt kills crayfish.

[k]

get some cheap, brown garbage bags, the real thin kind, and put them near the holes. They should suck in with the water, and after a few you can plug the holes with clay. It's temporary, but will last at least a few years. If the bags come right out the other side, you need a better repair. I fixed a leaky dam on a one acre pond this way, and it was good for several years. Now it's too far gone and the dam needs replacement.

keith

Get some cheap, brown garbage bags, the real thin kind like they line wastebaskets with, and put them near the holes. They should suck in with the water, and after a few you can plug the holes with clay. It's temporary, but will last at least a few years. If the bags come right out the other side, you need a better repair. I fixed a leaky dam on a one acre pond this way, and it was good for several years. Now it's too far gone and the dam needs replacement.

If you need the more permanent repair, it's easy enough to divert the stream using a pump.

keith