Mike: The pond is about 3/4 acre surface area when it is full. It's slightly oblong, about 200' x 150'. The water normally comes about one foot above the grass line you can see in the first picture. The water depth on top of the silt is only about 6'. I'd sure love to get the silt out and have it about 12'-14' deep in the middle.
Glenn: I intended to dig my trench about 12' wide all the way across one end of the pond so I could make a pass across, scraping from the side in a straight line, and continue to my spoils pile. To dig the trench, I had to drive in/down, load up, and back up the embankment with a full load. Even the slightest amount of sludge in my path and I was slipping while trying to back up. I ended up putting some crushed rock down and it helped tremendously. I also finally loaded my rear tires. Without that, there was no way I could haul a full bucket of wet clay sludge. With the tires loaded and just a minimum amount of crushed rock, it made all the difference in the world...like getting a whole new/bigger tractor.
Kyle: As you can see, you really need to know what you are getting into before making plans to dig out silt. I already have much more time into this project than I should have (a total of about 40 hours). At this point, I'd have to spend a steady two weeks to get the rest of the silt, and I just don't have the time. My tractor is paid for, but my time is my most precious commodity as Greg mentioned.
Greg: I'm in complete agreement with you. I've already used more time than I should. It's time to turn this over to a professional.
Eddie: I see two or three armadillos every day around my pond. They actually come there to eat ripe wild persimmons. I have several trees and they were loaded with fruit this year. Normally the 'dillos are so involved in eating that I can walk right up to them.
I think a dozer can clean out the pond pretty easy if he uses my 12' trench. That way he can do a straight push and cut the side of the trench rather than cut from below grade. I'll just let him push the spoils to one side of my little valley on the opposite side to where the water drains down from the uphill gullies. I'm going to call him and let him have a look at the job. Kathy can supervise while I'm at work. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif I suspect this will take only one day with a D6 sized dozer because the spoil pile will be so close and in a straight line.
Scotty: I'm pretty good at the controls now and also at judging what I can and cannot do. The more I work at this the more I learn to plan every move. As Eddie mentioned, you have to plan for a very big spoils pile and be ready to adjust those plans when things change. I expected in the beginning for the silt to be only 3' deep. To find out it is over 6' deep is a big surprise. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
