Dug Pond Screwup (not by me)

[bindian]

I need some advice on how to proceed sloping this pond with my 7.5 ton excavator. The owner wants the slope to begin about 3-4 feet below the water level that is about 36 feet in diameter right now. It was dug 10 feet down. He wants the top crest sloped down. It is solid clay from the water level down and sandy loam above the water level. There is not much room for screwups in the sequencing because of the close tree line. What is the best way to do this? Push the crest down and travel down it to pull the existing shore back uphill?

There is plenty of clay for sealing. But it is about 200 feet away (behind my red truck in the photo) spread out where he wants to put his house. We'll have to wait to find out how much clay I can move from this site until after the owner is told how thick his foundation pad needs to be.
hugs, Brandi
hugs, Brandi

 

[td25c]

Myself would start with the machine on the top & work all the way around cutting a flat " bench" where the feller in the blue shirt is standing . Now ya have a good flat causeway to set on .

Then hop down & work the lower part placing material back in the corner of the bench .

 

[bindian]

Thanks MM. That is basically reverse of how it was dug. Ex came in and dug depth, then small dozer cut a ramp and then cut the ledge Tom (the owner) is standing on in the photo. Then the ramp was filled in.

Tom mentioned trying it this way, but I am leery of putting the machine down there with the tracks paralleling the water line. If I do it this way, I'll drain the pond down 5-6 feet, so I can watch the bank wall.
hugs, Brandi

 

[td25c]

Cut the bench plenty wide for the excavator . Yep , pull the water down for better results .

Had many a feller ask we cut a wide bench / causeway on projects .

" I want a good back door out of this joint if it gets to wild " LOL !

 

[CM1995]

Can you pump the pond completely down or is there enough ground water to keep it filled?

 

[bindian]

Cut the bench plenty wide for the excavator . Yep , pull the water down for better results .

Had many a feller ask we cut a wide bench / causeway on projects .

" I want a good back door out of this joint if it gets to wild " LOL !

The pond owner didn't ask for it. The digger told him that was best. It won't hold water above the level in the photo. The digger didn't seal the "bench". I'm just going to dig enough clay out of the hole to seal the bench into a slope. Hopefully his homeowner's assoc. won't mind making it more pleasing to look at and walk around.

Do Y'all think I can just seal the bench area and then slope over it with the sandy loam topsoil. Then put out grass seed?

Hurricane Harvey only filled it about halfway up to the top grass level. It doesn't have much runoff inflow.

What machine is in the photo you included above?
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

Can you pump the pond completely down or is there enough ground water to keep it filled?

I would like to pump it down completely. I know ground water will keep coming back. But at least it won't refill faster than I can work it to get it right.
hugs, Brandi

 

[td25c]

Do Y'all think I can just seal the bench area and then slope over it with the sandy loam topsoil. Then put out grass seed?

Hurricane Harvey only filled it about halfway up to the top grass level. It doesn't have much runoff inflow.

What machine is in the photo you included above?
hugs, Brandi

Yeah , there might be a chance of sealing the top portion if the material is all clay used .

I think the best results will be pumping it out dry so you can grab all the clay you can to build on top of the bench .

Something else we look at is upping the inlet flow on a pond . We generally see 45 to 50 inches of rain annually in my area . Figure 3 to 1 on a pond job . 1 acre pond needs at least 3 acres feeding it to fill .

Imagine its going to be more in Texas .

Old Indian trick we use on a pond that's short on fill acres is run a little distance with field tile up to the closest water / dry wash ditch & install a small " dry dam" to funnel the water to the pond when it does rain .

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/threads/pond-pipe.71991/#post-751903

Machine in the photo is a 1978 HY-Hoe excavator . I had heard tales that other companies also built excavators but did not realize it until joined the Heavy Equipment Forums . I need to get out more often ……………... LOL !

 

[bindian]

I put diversion berms to funnel runoff into my small pond. Then a berm to direct the overflow from that pond to my large pond.

This pond is at the top of the hill. The owner says he will get a well dug to help the rain keep it full. I told him I checked into the same thing for Montgomery County and was told I could not dig a well.
hugs, Brandi