Cost to build 1 acre pond

[rogerius]

Hello to all good people
I was reading for some time this forum with a lot of passion and interest and I decided to post here some questions about our future project. I found lots of posts on this topic with a lot of interesting and good information.
We purchased a 92 acres property in Ontario, Grey County area and our plan is to build a pond. Based on reading we decide the bigger is the better, so we are thinking at a 1 acre pond 12ft deep, with purpose of swimming/some fish, but generally enjoying the water. Below I attached the sketch created for this pond. We appreciate any comments, suggestions, advice about this and more important think what I have to ask is: how much do you think this project can cost. So far we found one guy who said can do it and he started working at the quote, but I wish to have an idea from you about an estimated cost.
The land is almost flat with no trees or additonal work required so only digging is required. We are planning to level our front property which is at 200-300ft from the pond with the dirt resulted from digging the pond. The water will be from mother nature (rain and snow).

As a personal story about cost: we had to demolish two logs barns on this property, no foundation and no roof, and we asked around who can do it and for how much. Anyhow, we received about 10 quotes starting from 2000$ up to 8000$ and in the final we selected a serious person who did it for 3000$ (demolish, buried the barns in the ground and resurface the 200ft of driveway). So, I don稚 understand how somebody can ask 8000$. In this case, it was easy for us to evaluate the work required, but digging a pond is a big unknown for us and this is the reason why we ask for your opinion.
Thanks
Floyd

 

[deereman64]

Im not sure whether you asking just about the digging of the pond or that and other necessary work that need to be done. Lets assume the former so the issue is soil (eetc removal and placement elsewhere.
My experience was in NY on the fringes of the commuter belt and this was the rehabilitation of an old farm pond. The contractor was able to use a large excavator and charged me $1000 a day and the job down to 10 ft was done in 4 days. The size was about a 1/4 acre. I knew the contractor and this price may seem high but he knew what he was doing and I trusted him.
I think you have an added dimension in that with an acre pond the machine will have to get into the hole. You say that you expect water to come from rain and snow, but you may well hit water prior to completion.Your contractor should tell you what his plans are should this happen.

 

[rogerius]

Im not sure whether you asking just about the digging of the pond or that and other necessary work that need to be done. Lets assume the former so the issue is soil (eetc removal and placement elsewhere.
My experience was in NY on the fringes of the commuter belt and this was the rehabilitation of an old farm pond. The contractor was able to use a large excavator and charged me $1000 a day and the job down to 10 ft was done in 4 days. The size was about a 1/4 acre. I knew the contractor and this price may seem high but he knew what he was doing and I trusted him.
I think you have an added dimension in that with an acre pond the machine will have to get into the hole. You say that you expect water to come from rain and snow, but you may well hit water prior to completion.Your contractor should tell you what his plans are should this happen.

Thanks deereman64 for your imput. I was thinking the beach (smaller slop) area on my sketch will be the entrance point in the hole. I'm looking for a cost of digging the pond, layout the contour, pushing the dirt 300ft and level it, just an opinion/your thoughts, nothing scientific. About hiting the water at that depth we'll see. Hope the contractor will dig a small hole for testing before start digging to make a plan.

 

[sweettractors]

Won't you have to capture water runoff from someplace to maintain a full pond with spillway? Ken Sweet

 

[rogerius]

Won't you have to capture water runoff from someplace to maintain a full pond with spillway? Ken Sweet

The location of the pond is at the bottom of the hill, actually this flat platou of 2 acres where I wish to dig, is the lowest point of entire property, so I'm thinking I can collect the water without any additional capture channels.

 

[billfires]

Rogerius, check out "pondboss.com" for info. Bill C

 

[20 20]

Ponds are one of those things it is hard to put a price on without being there. Every contractor will have a different point of view and price. How much would you be doing if any? Do you have clay, if not then that'll have to be trucked in. The digging isn't the hard part getting rid of the dirt is the issue. I don't think you'll be able to get a valid price on this forum but, you can gain some knowledge. Your best bet would be to contact some reputable contractors in your area and see what they have to say.

 

[cspot]

Ponds are one of those things it is hard to put a price on without being there. Every contractor will have a different point of view and price. How much would you be doing if any? Do you have clay, if not then that'll have to be trucked in. The digging isn't the hard part getting rid of the dirt is the issue. I don't think you'll be able to get a valid price on this forum but, you can gain some knowledge. Your best bet would be to contact some reputable contractors in your area and see what they have to say.

20 20 is right that it is too hard to tell based on a sketch and description. Another reason in the price from contractors is how busy they are. If they have a lot of work the price will be higher because they really don't need the work. If they need the work you are more likely to get their rock bottom price. I like the guy who dug my foundation for my house. He gave me his hourly rate and also gave me a maximum of what it would cost. This way there was no surprises. He came in under what he said the maximum would be.

 

[gotrocks]

We have a 3/4 A pond that is now down over 3 feet. From lack of rain.
Was told when it was constructed that we needed minimum of 10 A of run off per one acre of pond.

Ours still drops during the summer. 3 foot drop leaves 8-10 feet of "shore" around the edge that was pond.

After a few summers of the "shrinking mud hole" we had a well drilled.
It will produce approx. 30 gal. per minute and wide open 1 1/4 pipe will raise the level approx 1 inch in 24 hours. The reason our pond is down now is the water is being used to keep orchard, arbor, shrubs and grass alive.

All this is to say I don't believe you will have a pond that you will enjoy if snow/rain is the only source of water.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Most of the heavy equipment operators around here won't quote an exact number. Too many variables. They'll tell you their best educated guess if all goes well and how many hours they think it'll take and how much they charge per hour.
Check references and ask to see some of their work.

 

[Alan L.]

When I had my 1.5 acre pond (10-12 feet deep) dug in 2000 it was $10K of aobut $15 total dirtwork and tree removal that was done. It will depend on how much dirt has to be moved, seems like he figure something like 95 cents per cubic yard of dirt moved. If you can just move a little dirt and dam up a natural slope it will cost less than if its pretty flat and it all has to be dug out. And the latter will be difficult to fill with rain water.

Ours gets 3 or 4 feet low in the summertime, and so for, for 10 years it has filled up over winter/spring. We have a well and I have a 1.25" line next to the pond, but seems like it has to run 2 or 3 days to raise it an inch. And, then well is our only source of drinking water so I really don't want to put that much pressure on it. So far the pond has recovered each year, I have big catfish and bass in there, and none have ever died from lack of water.

 

[lilranch2001]

I had a quote 20 years ago when I bought this land for an acre and a half pond, if I remember it was 6 k, and he guaranteed it not to leak.

Of course it was one of those statements from my ex wife.....
"Bob we dont need one fo those"

 

[The Dougster]

A couple of years ago, I had a contractor work over a pond (we call them stock tanks here in Texas) and he charged me $5500... that included digging down a few feet to determine if there was enough clay to provide a good seal to prevent leaking.
Your sketch looks great but these things don't always follow a predetermined plan. Dependent on the slope of the land and the amount of rain/snow, you may have problems filling the pond.. Have a long, serious talk with reputable contractors.

 

[rogerius]

First of all thanks to everybody for the great feedback received so far, I'm so glad I asked the question here. That is true, we are concern about fluctuation in water level during the year and as a backup we are thinking to a well, but that will be after we'll see the pond done.
I'll let you know the value of the first quote and the development of this project.

Thanks again guys.
Floyd

 

[ray66v]

My father and I, dug 2 lakes on his property, for almost nothing.

We bought some used equipment, and sold it for what we paid, when we were done.

Plus, we had fun doing it. :thumbsup:

 

[EddieWalker]

A simple rule of thumb is a buck a yard to move dirt. The farther you move it, the more that will cost you. Digging is fast and easy, the real work is in moving it. Since you said that you are using the dirt to build up an area close by, that should help keep expenses down.

For every foot you dig over an acre of area, you will be moving 1,613.3 yards of dirt.

43,560 sq. ft. (1 acre) * 1 ft. deep /27 cubic ft. (1 cubic yd) = 1613.333 cubic yds

While the slope will make it less then an acre the farther you go down, it's a good rule of thumb to figure $1,600 per foot for your pond.

The only thing my rule of thumbs are good for is to give you a base of what you are looking at. Each area of the country is different, and you could be in an expensive area or a cheaper area. Having a baseling of $1,600 per foot will let you know if you are being taken advantage of or getting a deal.

Other consderations are how well they will spread the soil. Will it be compatce? If you are going to build on it, you have to spread it out and compact it. If not, the soil will settle over the years and anything you build on it will also settle with the soil, resulting in foundation failure and all that goes along with that. When you do build on that area, be sure to tell your contractor that the soil was put there from your pond and about how deep it is. Digging a bit deeper footings for your house can save you tens of thousands of dollars down the road in foundation problems.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[ITHINKICAN]

Eddie, Not sure if you'll see this...

We are in Fort Bend County. We need lots and lots of dirt. We want to build an mx/atv track for our boys. We know of a monster size pile of dirt. We were quoted $55 a truck load to move it 6 miles (from where it is - to where we need it). We told them it was too much - then they quoted $45 per truck load. Each truck would be approx 12 yards - I guess that is approx $3.75 a yard. We were then told if we dug a pond it would be approx $2.75 a yard - I guess that pays for the excavator, dozer and a truck or two...

Do you happen to know anyone down in the Houston area that would dig us a pond for those prices you mentioned? It would save us a mountain of money if you did...

Sorry to jack the thread - carry on.

 

[Redneck in training]

We had a pond built in 2004. The pond is in a dammed ravine, is about 0.7 ac of triangular shape and 18-19 ft in the deepest point. Average depth is about 8 ft. Cost 11500 to build and 10000 in seepage repair.
You also mentioned beach. I wouldn't do it. It would be a source of cattails growth. To prevent excessive cattail growth the the banks of the pond should be reasonably steep (depending on soil quality) to at least 3.5 ft deep.
I am guessing you will need about 20:1 watershed.

 

[EddieWalker]

Let my clarify my buck a yard statement. That's what it costs me to do so, and what I would guess it costs most guys to do it. There is no profit figured into that amount, just fuel, oil and the price of equipment for the time you are using it.

When you hire people to do it, you have to add in the price of labor. Then the farther you move it, the more it will cost. Especially if you are moving it with commercial trucks, on public roads and have to pay licensing and insurance. Just moving it around the farm doesn't require any of that.

As for knowing anybody in your area, I can't say that I do. Pond Management - Fisheries Management - Pond Boss Magazine might be a better place to search for a contractor, but like everything, research and check refrences before commiting to anybody. Be sure to have at least five to talk to before hiring anybody and force yourself to talk to all five. Some contractors are great salesman and can make you feel really good about hiring them, but then their work is less then what you had expected.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[jml755]

A couple of comments:
- Have you checked with your local govt about any pond ordinances? Don't know about Ontario laws, but here in Michigan permits are required, plans must be approved, etc. My township recently tried to amend their pond ordinance because one overflowed and got a neighbor p-ssed off.
- I have a pond (almost 4 acres) in St. Clair County (SW of you, across the border) that I believe is just fed from runoff. Water level is down about 1 foot this summer, so yeah, you will have fluctuations. However, the Great Lakes area is NOT Texas or down South. We get a LOT more precipitation. And Grey County is in an area that I don't think you'll be lacking for snowfall. :laughing: I haven't ever seen the smaller ponds in the area become just mudholes.