Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Trash Pump?

Any organic component of the sediment would be reduced by proper aeration. But that won't help with non-organics, like the soil, sand, and clay components of silt.

Silt can be removed by dredging or excavating from shore with a large trackhoe (what can be reached, anyway), or the pond can be drained to allow it to be removed somewhat more easily. But silt is fairly difficult to handle efficiently, compared to sand, clay, topsoil, or gravel.

If raising the dam is an option, it is often a more economical way to increase pond depth. Much more detail is available in Lusk & Otto's "Perfect Pond: Want One?"