Puddled clay pond

Puddled clay pond, what is it, is it worth it?

A puddled clay pond is in essence, a hole dug in the ground and lined with clay. That is it in principal, but in reality the clay must have no stones, be at least 30cm thick and built up in layers, each layer must be compressed to prevent any air bubbles.

Not only must the clay be compressed (a back hoe excavators back of the bucket is good) it should also have a sloping side so that wild life can get in, and more importantly so the back hoe can get out.

It must also be level all the way round, and most importantly never allowed to dry out anywhere. Water will evaporate by the heat of the sun, this will drop the water level causing the exposed clay to crack, cracks cause leaks and when it rains water will get into the cracks and cause it to crack more.

In short puddled clay ponds very rarely work or last, they can if they are maintained / checked everyday, but this is not always possible. This also assumes you have the clay to build it with in the first place.

You may like to read this link, it shows how they had to give up with the idea.