Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Digging a dam in the winter

I am under construction to fix a leak in the core. The entire old dam is being pushed back into my ravine and a new dam being built in front of it. MY contractor has been dragging his feet since August to get on this project. He has started by cutting a strip about 6 ft deep, 15ft wide to drive a dump truck through. He is planning on digging and moving earth with that. He has moved quite a bit of earth already but stopped to get another piece of equipment in there. My question is with the bitter cold that's now in KY.....(4 degrees last night)is there ever a bad time to dig? My thoughts go to ground being frozen and not being able to get good compaction on the new dam. He says that the ground under the top soil is fine and not frozen. He is going to collect enough clay around the exposed bank line to build another dam. He will scrape off the top soil, collect clay, and dump and compact. I have spent money on repairs for this pond once before, only to have half fixed my problem. I want this thing fixed once and for all! Any help or opinions on his theory for experience doing this during winter and having success with compaction?

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I do not know for sure but I would hold off until it gets warmer. If this guy has been dragging his feet Expecting you to wait for him to work whenever he feels like it , he can wait on you.

I've been holding off saying anything because I don't really know.

On the positive side I see road construction crews running whenever the weather and frost allows. They need compaction but they don't need to hold water either.

I would think as long as the clay had the correct moisture content for compaction and the contractor had equipment big enough to work the area without it freezing the layers it probably would be ok. But that is entirely a guess.

I answer mostly to let you know people are reading your post. I think the problem is most of us just don't know.

No expert but, I would say once you get below the frost line he would be correct, the ground would not be frozen and it will have plenty enough moisture to compact. If this wasn't the case all water lines would be freezing. The main thing I would want to make sure of is he was working at a fast enough pace digging and compacting before the freshly dug earth could freeze. I would want to also be sure he could complete construction and compaction of dam all in one day to prevent one section from freezing then having a section finished on top of it. Just my thoughts.

Thank you for your responses, even if they are mere opinions. Thats all Im left with right now anyway are my own intuitions. I have the same thoughts as all above. I have YouTubed dam builds in the winter and see big equipment running and building with snow on the ground and dams being demo'd with frozen water. I also have the same opinion that the dam must completed in one day. At this ole coot's pace, that ain't happening. My fear is that if compacted layer by layer then a new leak will appear there.