Here in south central Illinois, finding enough clay in the soil to hold water is generally not a problem. Heck, the adjacent county to the south is called Clay County. Most dirt contrators bid pond sites by the amount of soil that is needed to build the dam. In most cases the cost to construct a pond dam will be between $1 and $1.50 per cubic yard of fill dirt. Then you need to add the cost of any clearing and the cost to install the pipe spillway. I constucted a 3 acre pond on my property in 1999 and I feel it is typical of the cost in my area. Below is a breakdown on the pond.
Dam: 25ft tall, 200ft long, 12ft top, 3:1 back slope, 2.5:1 front slope = aprox. 10,000 cu yds
Pond site was wooded and three days were needed to remove trees and brush. The only area where stumps were remove was where the fill dirt was to be taken to build the dam. After the dam was complete, the stumps and root balls were placed back in the pond for structure. A 4 inch drain pipe was placed in the bottom of the pond to allow the pond to be drained for fish and weed management. An 8 inch pipe was used as the principle spillway. Both the drain and the principle spillway had 2 anti seep collars on them. Then the pond dam was fertilized and seeded to control eroision. One day was spent on dozer pushing up mounds and ridges, creating drop offs, and placing stumps.
The bill from contractor was for $18,000.
three days clearing cost $2700
Pipe installations cost $700
Day creating structure cost $900
Subtract these costs off the $18,000 and it leaves $13,700 that went to moving dirt for the dam. At 10,000 cu. yds. this would be $1.37 per cu. yd.
With the additional costs of pipe, fertilizer and seeding/mulching and all the beer it took to get my buddies to help, I had a total cost of aprox. $20,000.
Therefore, when estimating a pond for someone, a figure of $2.00 per cu. yd. for a turn key pond will usually be in the ballpark for this area and usually on the safe side. Obviosly, if no clearing is needed and a drain pipe isn't wanted and the owner isn't interested in creating a good fishing pond, the cost will be lower. Then you have your choice of contractor. I always recommend a contractor that has several pieces of equipment. You don't want to get halfway into a pond and have a "one dozer contractor" break down. It may take a week or more to get parts and you may have a half built pond that is sitting full of water by then. When choosing a contractor remember, you usually get what you pay for.
