I am looking to build an excavated pond, probably around 1.5 acres (between 1-2a). It would be used primarily for swimming & decoration, and secondarily for fishing.
The building area is a flat, open field with about 4 feet deep of sandy loam, then a nice layer of clay underneath it.
I had a contractor come out and do some other work for me, and it was very reasonable ($575 compared to the $1500 others were quoting). I also talked to him about putting in a pond, and he actually drove me around and showed me about 30 others he had built. Despite the low cost on the other work he did for me, he estimated that a 1 acre pond would cost me $20k, and each acre afterward would cost more because the additional acreage would be mostly dug at the deeper level of around 14'(thus moving more earth). I called one other contractor on the phone who gave me a very rough estimate that was around $20k just do dig a hole...without moving the dirt anywwhere or leveling it out.
From most of the research I have done, I know that prices vary a great deal, but these estimates sound rather high. $30-40k for 1.5 acres sounds like a lot, especially since I would probably want to add in a well, aeration, and misc things to accomdate both fishing and a swimming beach.
Do these figures sound way off the mark, or might they be appropriate?
Does anyone have recommendations for a qualified, reasonablly-priced contractor in SE Michigan?
