Digging Pond questions

   / Digging Pond questions #1  

Meadow2014

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Tyler county, Tx
Tractor
JD
Location: south tyler county
Digging a pond that is 70 x 35 x 12Deep.
Less than 1000 yards of dirt due to slopping
Soil: Silt/Sand i believe maybe some clay
Open area that stays really went during wet season and holds water after a good rain.
terrain around pond: steady slope towards pond
Will dig pond beginning of june when drier.

Using a Cat D3G dozer only.... i know they re are better ways, but this is the way im having to do it.

How long would that take me?
Is 12 foot deep enough to keep water year around?
How long would it take me to spread 600 yards of dirt?
Could it be done in 2 to 3 full days?

I live on 13 acres of land.....will my 13 acres support an additional pond of similar size 7 acres away?
Will come back later when money permits with backhoe to dig deeper if need be.

Thanks
 
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   / Digging Pond questions #2  
Meadow,
12 feet is a good depth. Now is it deep enough to hold water? That's a tough question to answer. If you have a lot of sand, your gonna need to line it with clay.
Someone with small dozer experience will have to answer how long to spread the spoils out.
hugs, Brandi
 
   / Digging Pond questions #3  
As Brandi stated.. Depth will depend on the soil. I have 3 ponds of fair size.. The last one got to 18' and then the core for the dam got real deep .. They dug as deep at the track hoe could .. Then dug a platform to drive the hoe in and dug deeper to find clay .. Then filled that with clay all along the dam .. All 3 hold water and have never gone empty ... They have dropped during the extreme drought .. But full and overflowing again.
 
   / Digging Pond questions
  • Thread Starter
#4  
When clearing land of mostly brush and small trees ( 2 to 7 in diameter) should I use root rake first?
 
   / Digging Pond questions #5  
Not sure how things get done it texas, but around here typically the first thing that gets done is a test hole is dug. Then you know if the soil is even good for a pond, and how deep you can go.

Now it might just be be, but 35' wide, only 75' long, and 12+ ft deep seems like a pretty small pond for that depth. Especially for trying to dig with a dozer and be able to push back up and out.

My pond was ~2000-2500 yds of dirt moved. Two guys with two smaller excavators (14 ton and 9 ton machines) and 2 days. I would think with an EX yours could be done in a day. A dozer.....again, I think you are going to have a hard time pushing any amount of dirt up and out. Not to mention the risk of getting stuck in the bottom instead of digging from above with an ex.

As to the spreading 600 yds with a d3. Just depends on how far/thin you want to spread it. BUt I dont see that taking more than a day.
 
   / Digging Pond questions #6  
When you say "70 x 35 x 12Deep" are those dimensions in feet or yards?
 
   / Digging Pond questions #7  
When you say "70 x 35 x 12Deep" are those dimensions in feet or yards?

Thats a good question. But since he said ~1000yds of dirt to move, I am assuming he meant feet. Cause yards would make it more like 27000 yards of dirt to me moved.
 
   / Digging Pond questions
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Thanks for the info.

My Dad had his pond dug with a D4 dozer only in a day....and it was 40 x 70 x 15....so I figured I could get it done in at least 2 days. I ll also be using a D4

My neighbor has a pond that is 12 foot deep and holds water very well so im going off that.....his pond is about 2 acres away.

Yeah after doing some studing im going to make my pond more square....around 85 by 65. easier to push dirt out.

Dimensions in feet
 
   / Digging Pond questions
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Location: south tyler county
Digging a pond that is 70 x 35 x 12Deep.
Less than 1000 yards of dirt due to slopping
Soil: Silt/Sand i believe maybe some clay
Open area that stays really went during wet season and holds water after a good rain.
terrain around pond: steady slope towards pond
Will dig pond beginning of june when drier.

Using a Cat D3G dozer only.... i know they re are better ways, but this is the way im having to do it.

How long would that take me?
Is 12 foot deep enough to keep water year around?
How long would it take me to spread 600 yards of dirt?
Could it be done in 2 to 3 full days?

I live on 13 acres of land.....will my 13 acres support an additional pond of similar size 7 acres away?
Will come back later when money permits with backhoe to dig deeper if need be.

Thanks


Will be using a D4 wide tracks blade is a 6 way that's 10 foot wide
I mentioned a D3G in first post that has changed to D4
 
   / Digging Pond questions #10  
My neighbor has a pond that is 12 foot deep and holds water very well so im going off that.....his pond is about 2 acres away.

Acres is not a measurement of distance.

2 acres, if only a foot wide, is 16.5 miles away:confused2:

you get the idea.

2 acres could be 100ft away, 1000ft away, or who knows. And just because your neighbors holds water at 12' is no guarentee on yours. Also, is there any elevation change in that 2 acres between you and him? That could make a difference too.
 
 
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