Good luck to both of you guys. MWB, it sounds like you’ve got three good builders to work with. I’m trying to remember, did you get the guys from the Dept of Conservation to come out? They laid out my drainage area on their maps, evaluated clay content and made recommendations. Gave me 80%+ chance of success. His major concern was my drainage area. Just 10 ac for a 1 ac pond. He thought the clay was great. It turned out to be the opposite. I have enough drainage, but not too much that’s for sure. But we did not find as good a clay as we had originally projected. He also designed the emergency overflow. More than adequate.

9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep.
RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these.
I think that's about all I should put in my little pond.
Otter attack in 2023