Sodium bentonite clay has been successfully used as a sealant for earth dams where the soil is of a permeable nature and where less than optimum compaction can be achieved. It is extremely important that the bentonite clay is incorporated and compacted correctly as less than satisfactory results may be obtained if attention is not given to the application process.
Bentonite clay is perfectly safe, environment-friendly and can be used in most earth dams, irrigation dams and channels, wildlife and domestic farm animal watering holes, without negatively impacting the environment.
Our expertise includes the construction and sealing of clear and polluted water storage dams, evaporation ponds, leach pads, wetlands, decorative ponds, and streams.
For the reader’s edification, we provide a very simplistic overview of the standard specification for using sodium bentonite in earth dam sealing which generally entails the following.
Sodium Bentonite
Sodium bentonite can be thought of as
a concentrated clay such that relatively small amounts blended with sandy soils drastically reduces permeability.
Sodium bentonite is most effective, when used as a mixed blanket, in the construction stage of a dam or pond or when an existing dam has been completely drained, as only under these conditions can the necessary compaction be achieved. This is our preferred method of sealing however we will discuss the other methods in another blog post.
The Three Main Methods Of Applying Sodium Bentonite to Seal Dams, Ponds & Streams.
- Mixed Blanket Method of Application
- Pure Blanket Method of Application
- The Sprinkle Method of Application
