I am not familiar with the soils in the Wichita are enough to say, but around me it would be fine. We have a number of "borrow pits" along different highways and railroad overpasses that have seemed to fill and hold water just fine.
But we have a clay based subsoil. If you have very sandy soil or rock veins or other problems where the water could leak out then it might not work well. If your soils will not hold water easily you might need proper compaction of the bottom and sides.
You could make that part of the deal. That they compact the final hole with either a sheeps foot roller or rubber tires scrapers or loaded haul trucks. If you have concerns of it not holding water. Do you have any borrow pits along raised roads in your area? Do they hold water well? That might at least give you an idea.
As far as going steeper than 3:1, you need clay or some type soil that will not slough off easily. Otherwise over time the sides will slough off of the steep part and make some of the less steep part more steep. Also steeper than 3:1 makes it either very difficult or impossible to properly compact the pond bottom. If it were me, unless I knew specifically that my soils would stand up to steeper and hold water, I would stay at 3:1.
No expert, those are just the things I would consider if it were mine.
Last edited by snrub; 08/01/17 06:42 PM.
