New pond owner; question about soggy soil around pond

Hello All, I am new to owning a pond and finding all kinds of helpful information here.  The pond is doing well and the fish and turtles are thriving.  It's a man made pond, and from google earth pics, it appears it's been around since the house was built in 1986.  It's about .6 of an acre and from what we can tell about 3-5 feet deep.  We are in low land in Central Florida with a lot of wetlands around.  I'm trying to find the best way to keep the water from seeping out into the land around the pond.  The soil appears to be sand in most places and a mucky type in other places.    The soil around the pond and the soil on the island are very soggy even if we haven't had rain in weeks.  

I've researched bentonite clay and watersave (the polymer that you sprinkle over the water and sinks to the bottom to seal).  Not sure if there's a US company that sells this type of polymer as the watersave company I found is in Australia.  I was thinking of getting the bentonite and sprinkling it around the edges before the rainy season and the pond fills up more.  Also, seriously considering the polymer product.

Has anyone used either product on an existing pond to keep the water in the pond and not seeping out the soil around the pond?

Thanks in advance for any/all advice!!

Not sure if you are not setting yourself up for mission impossible here :-)
Have you obseved this pond over time and does it go up and down with the seasons ?
Why do you want to get rid of the natural boggy edge ?

David

Or maybe use plants that like soggy to break it up 😊 and or a series of swales and plants!

Real ponds have soggy edges. This is where the froggies live, this is a natural part of a pond.  If you want to make it prettier and keep people from walking
on the edges and getting goo in their shoes, plant water loving plants in those areas.  This will make your pond healthier too.  

There are all kinds of attractive green and flowering plants that would love to live in these soggy areas.
https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1332

Thanks David, Tripp and Cris.  We have only lived here a few months and the water has gone down about a foot (it's been a fairly dry winter).  The previous owner did tell me that when we had a several month drought last year, the pond nearly dried up.  Also, there is a drain on the side that if the water level gets too high, the water will drain out that pipe and into the wetlands behind the house.  I do want to avoid the sogginess so we don't walk in it, but the main reason is I want to redo the driveway which is close to the pond.  You can see in the pics, the concrete is very cracked.  My thought was if the pond wasn't leaching, I could bring in some soil with some clay in it and redo the driveway (after I have the old concrete taken out and recycled).  I thought there would be no point in redoing the driveway if the soil was the same (saturated from the pond) and the new concrete would do the same and crack excessively when it settled. Is this me thinking in the wrong direction here?  It seems like I've walked around ponds in Florida that aren't soggy like this, but that may be those are more retention ponds and not real ponds.  This pond is flourishing with life and a very happy pond, so we do want to keep it that way.

If the pond ever goes dry again you can put in a natural liner for it. It is called Bentonite and swells in water to several times its size. It really works, but is an expense.

Here we are lazy and use something more permicultural to seal a pond: DUCKS! Not sure how they would do in Florida (Alligators?) but here they create a slurry from how they eat and poo, and over time really create a natural liner for the pond.

I have ducks and a pond, and they've been doing their business in it for over 2 years, and have yet to seal it that I can tell. But, I also have gravely loam soil, which probably makes it harder for them to seal the pond...

With respect,it sounds as if you have a different concept about ponds, which does not line up with reality.
The pond knows what its doing, just leave it alone and as suggested , just walk elsewhere.
I would love a pond like that in Australia where our droughts last 10 years at times, not months.
Anyway enjoy it for what it is, maybe get a boat and sit in that in the middle!

By the look of that photo, the land around the pond is only a few inches above the water line. Be aware that the water permeates the soil at roughly the same level as the surface of the pond, and will wick up to the surface of the soil somewhat.

If you want dry ground surrounding that pond, you will need to raise the surrounding land up by adding soil from elsewhere.