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Show I Sealing Ponds With Rentonite Successful j Completing the construction of an I earthen stuck pond or overnight storuge does not necessarily menu liiat the Job Is finished. Too many I times farmers have discovered that I although their pond looked Ideal, they were faced with the discouraging discourag-ing fact that considerable water loss occurred through seepage. To prevent pre-vent this loss such methods as trampling with sheep, using a sheeps foot roller, hauling clay, puddling and many other means have been used with varying degrees of success depending upon the type of soil and its structure. In recent years the use of Ben-tonite Ben-tonite has come to the front as a means of sealing ponds. A good example ex-ample of the use of Bentonite and its success Is on tfie Dr. A. L. Graff ranch south of Cedar City. In May 1946 Dr. Clraff decided something would have to be done to seal the four stock ponds on his ranch. One of these In particular was leaking badly while the other three' were only on-ly holding fairly well. The stock pond with the large loss of water received Its supply from a 3000 gallon gal-lon capacity tank which was filled by a windmill, and even though the flow from the windmill continued to run into the pond during and after the 3000 gallons were drained into It, the pond would be practically practic-ally dry in less than two hours. Some of the old methods of sealing were tried but none were successful. Using Us-ing the some procedure for applying apply-ing Bentonite as he used on the other oth-er ponds, Dr. Graff disced the bottom bot-tom and the sides of the pond, broad cast Bentonite over the bottom and sides at the rate of one pound for 4 square feet, and disced it into the ground thoroughly, followed by pulling pull-ing a sheepsfoot roller back and forth across the area. When the water was again put In, not only did the pond hold tightly but now runs over if the windmill Is allowed to pump water inio It. The same degree deg-ree of success was achieved with the other three stock ponds. Dr. Graff has recently Installed a pump well for Irrigation water and built an overnight storage pond to facilitate facil-itate irrigation and to conserve "water. "wa-ter. So sold was he on the Bentonite Benton-ite process that he ordered more of It and applied It to the storage pond immediately tfter construction was completed and has had the same good results In reducing seepage to a minimum. Bentonite can be purchased in 100 pound sacks at Aurora, Utah for $13.50 per ton. To seal a pond 150 feet by 150 feet and applying Ben-tenite Ben-tenite at the rate of one pound per 4 square feet, it would take approximately approx-imately 50 one hundred pound sacks. |