Originally Posted By: Rainman
If the embankment (Dam) is 35,000 CUBIC yards, that means a LOT of $$$$$ Typical excavation can run between $40 and $200 per cubic yard depending on access and terrain...Per hour rates can run between $125 and $250 per piece of heavy equipment running, but quite a few cubic yards can be moved in an hour by a qualified and experienced operator....either way, it will not be inexpensive. Be sure to check requirements as I am pretty sure nearly 75 acre feet will fall under not only state, but also federal jurisdiction/regulations...EPA and Army Corps of Engineers (ACE). If there is a blue line creek in the USGS topo, offsetting stream remediation will almost certainly be required by the EPA....


A couple dig tests were done last summer and I have the grey, gummy clay in the two sites that he dug right near the creek and on the sides of proposed dam site. With that amount of dirt, i'm most likely looking at having to haul some in too. I know its going to be expensive. The software used was just an rough sketch estimate. By no means was it someone who builds ponds for a living. He just started playing with the slope / elevation of the dam. Hopefully the majority of the dirt is sitting under the current creek. There is a blue line that shows up on the topo so it is a true creek. It actually begins on my property as a spring. Where it begins, there is a current .3 acre pond that was built in 1956. That's probably a good thing because its catching the initial sediment , etc.