Pond building

[louis112]

My father inlaw wants to build an 1.5 acre pond, he is going to be buying about a 50HP tractor 4WD with loader (just to keep on farm). I know that it cant be done just with loader alone, so I thought about a 3YD dirt pan, I think this would be about the cheapest way out (buy pan build pond sale pan). I know you have to dig out for core, and a sheep foot has to be used. Its going to be kind of in a valley so basically just building a dam with 18" over flow. I have been running equipment for about 8years never touched a pan before. I know its going to be some SEAT TIME INVOLVED. OPINIONS WELCOME!!!

 

[Wheat Farmer]

Here in CO there are a lot of rules about building a pond. What is your water source?

 

[louis112]

Spring and about 4acres of hill side

 

[BushogPapa]

Track-Hoe and Dozer would get it done pretty fast.

How deep..???

8' to 10' should be a minimum, in the center and angle the sides as steep as you can.

You need to cut a dove-tail across the width of the Dam, to "Key" it in and make it hold well..

A simple "Stand-Pipe" over-flow is the easiest to put in.

Ron..

 

[ohiojim]

don"t believe you"ll need a roller, tractor and pan should give you all the compaction you need

 

[Bryan inIowa]

What is located below the pond? DNR might want to have some say in it . Much as I hate government intervention I would make a call . Plus side they may have some good advice or even financial help . Place we hunt in Iowa got 3 ponds built for FREE as part of a watershed project DNR was doing .

 

[JOB]

If you build a pond in Minnesota and when the state realizes it. They have another wet land to control. Check it out

 

[Richard G.]

Tractor and dirt pan will do everything except digging the core. I hired a backhoe to do the core and had an A JD and dirt pan on wheels for the dirt moving. The tractor and dirt pan packed it very well. No need for a sheepsfoot roller.
Don' back water over your spring and 4 acres is not much of a watershed.
Richard in NW SC

 

[patrickmull]

we plug springs if water can come in it can go out also it might not happen right away i saw one in a drought year do it it was 2.5 acres 23' deep

 

[60 acre hillside]

In the area where I live the way to build a pond is to hire a dozer by the hour. Get a D-6 or larger. Bigger is cheaper. Forget about contracts or cubic yards. I have a 450 John Deere but an honest person in the excavating business with a medium to large machine can move dirt at about a fourth of what it cost me to move the same amount. In the kind of dirt we have here a 50 horsepower tractor would be worn out by the time a acre and half pond was finished.

 

[Anonymous-0]

You can do it, but you will need a bigger tractor or a smaller pan. Just my thoughts from experience. Actually probably cheaper in the long run to hire it done.

 

[greygoat]

In Wisconsin, if you even ASK the DNR, you"ll
be on their "Hit List" forever. They will be
spying on you, and trying to catch you doing
something illegal, so they can generate revenue,
(fines) from you!

 

[David G]

You will typically want 10-15 acres of watershed per acre of pond. I do not know how a spring will effect that.

 

[Prawn Farmer]

I have 6 ponds - 3 which are used exclusively for aquaculture production.
I"ve had an excavating contractor do all of my construction - it"s done right, correct keyway, compaction and spillways. A skilled operator can make things happen pretty quick. Seems like my last pair of 1/2 acre ponds 4 years ago were $3000 total for the pair and a 2.5 acre pond was $3200. I furnish the gates and 10" ADS pipe. We have mostly clay with sandstone and shale ledge so cutting in the proper keyway is crucial.
So it depends on if you just need a dog bowl style water collector (and want to have some fun playing in the dirt) or something more.

 

[Tim Barnes]

Louis. when my neighbor built his pond above mine he tried to follow all the rules, permit wise etc. I was amazed at the amount of paper work involved. If I were you, I would check with your county ag. agent first. Here, in South Carolina, it took my neighbor almost 2 years to get permits from DHEC and the Army Corp of Engineers. Also, there is The Wetlands Protection Act, that our former president, Jimmy Carter inacted that might affect your plans. My neighbor had to set aside an equal amount of land as the pond size, that meant he couldn't ever use or disturb the set aside portion for anything.
Here's a link that might help you, if you can understand all of it, I couldn't.
http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/eo11990.cfm

 

[louis112]

How deep and wide does the CORE need to be???

 

[Rick Kr]

My two cents. Rent equipment or hire it done. A 50hp tractor won't do it.

My pond is around an acre, 18 feet at the center. I used a Komatsu 300 with a 60inch bucket and a 6x6 off-road dump truck. Done in 1 week. Plus finish grade time.

The loader on a 50hp tractor would be worn out, and you would need to drop down to a yard or so dirt pan. Unless you have unlimited time on your hands. Plus going that slow you need a way to keep the water out.

 

[Rick Kr]

Meant its an 1 1/4 acres. No spring to feed it. It has a watershed of 55-60 acres. It will still drop around 2 feet in a real dry summer. The tile you see in the one photos is about 3 foot below grade.
Rick

 

[Anonymous-0]

Are you planning to spend a whole year non stop digging it and praying it never rains? Hire a drag line if possible or an excavator and dozer to spread the dirt. You'll need a truck if you want to haul the material away. If you wanted to dig it yourself, you'd need a D6 size dozer with a pull scraper or a 3/4 yd or bigger excavator. 1 1/2 acres is a really huge pond for 50 HP and a farm tractor isn't the machine for this project. You don't need a packer.