I have a pond of about 3 acres. It was completed in December 08. It is now full and real muddy. The valve I installed in the pond to drain the pond is a slide valve. It was leaking so we installed a riser on the pipe which slowed the leak there. But where the pipe comes thru the back of the dam it appears to be leaking from about ground level to about a foot above the ground elevation. Should I worry about the leak or see if it will seal itself. I will post some pics of leak if it dries up enough here to see the color difference. Also as far as muddy water should I wait and see or add chemicals to clear up.

Was an anti-seep collar installed around the pipe when the pond was constructed? As for the muddy water, does it settle out if a glass of water is taken from the pond and let sit for a day undisturbed?

Yes a collar was installed on the interior and exterior of the dam. Yes the water clears up after 36 hours or so.

If there's nothing in the water that will keep it stirred up,(i.e. bullheads, etc.) and there is vegetation on the banks to help corral the run-off, then I believe it would be a good candidate for flocculation. Check some of the other posts on muddy water to see how the other guys with the same problem took care of it.

As for the leakage, I'm sure that one of the experts will be chiming in shortly. I'm outta ideas!

Here is a pic of pond midway on dam looking toward our place

Here are a few pics of my leak. It is a small area as my dam is around 250-300 yards in length. It is however where we installed the drain pipe. My pond is full and trickling water out of the overflow pipe for a few days now. Just needing to know on next course of action if any needed before stocking fish in pond this fall. Thanks in advance.