My property is 360ft wide and has elevation change of 5 ft. The ponds here (Branham, TX) have to be at least 10 ft deep to keep water through the summer, so we had to move lot of dirt.
I ended up paying $1500 to clear the land, $8000 for the original estimate(3/4 ac pond), and about $2000 in additional complications, like pumping out the hole twice because of rain. I paid $65/hr for D6 with an operator. I wanted to start on my second pond this summer, but I am getting quotes of $85/hr for D6. I don't know if it is entirely because of the fuel cost, but that's a big jump.
