Hi everybody! I posted the following on FB yesterday and was almost immediately recommended to seek out Bob Lusk at The Pond Boss. I just watched an hour long video on pond construction on YouTube and I’ve gotta tell ya, Bob, I’m impressed. I’m confident you’re the guy who can answer my questions! I’d love to chat over the phone if you do that. Anyway, here’s the post:
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Greetings, y’all. I have a property near Carta Valley, Texas. I’ve had an engineer come out from the USDA to survey my place. He suggested a specific location and his recommendation was to build my pond at least 12’ deep and no more than 1/4 acre in surface size to avoid going dry during droughts.

One of my (our) concerns was hitting rock, but I was pleasantly surprised recently when my neighbor dug a TEST HOLE about 16’ deep and we hit zero rock. His excavator cut through it like butter. Therefore, I’m very excited!

As can be seen from the pic, there’s a lot of caliche material that’s porous. Water will run right through that, so I must line it. I’m not sure whether to line the pond with bentonite, clay or a poly liner. I want something that will last, but I also want to be able to afford it. I don’t really understand how clay or bentonite would stick to steep sides. I want about 1/4 to 1/3 of it to have a shallow end for doves and deer to drink, but I’d like about 2/3 to 3-4 of it to be a steep/deep drop off.

The purposes of the pond, in order, are:

1) Wildlife watering
2) Fishing
3) Swimming

I do have a water well that puts out about 15 GPM for supplementation, if necessary.

Can anyone recommend someone, or a company, in the area who can help me? As mentioned, I have the ability to dig the hole. Just need someone to finish it once the hole is there.

Thnx!!

[Linked Image from deertexas.com]