I've talked with three different excavators for bids on my 1/2 acre water table pond. No surprises but the quotes are all over the map. In the research I've done on here I keep hearing about pumping out the water from the pond as it is being dug. One of the contractors was leaning towards digging it with a crane. The other two were going to be using track hoes for the digging. Only one of the three mentioned pumping the water as it is being dug, and it was one of the excavators using a track hoe. Should I be concerned whether or not the water is being pumped out during digging? I just assumed that a crane is always used in/under the water - am I wrong?
The first quote came in at $30,000. Keep in mind the pond site is heavily wooded and needs to have around two acres cleared to have an area to spread the spoils.
The second quote came in at $14,000 by the contractor using the crane. He was recommending shooting the grade and running an overflow pipe to the nearby river to "keep the water moving" in the pond. I question this logic as the water table in the test hole looks to be the same level as the river, by the eyeball method.
The third quote came in at $20,000 to $25,000 and was by the contractor that was going to pump the water during digging. They also built our house for us in 2004, so I know the quality of their work. They have done a lot of residential development and have put in a number of ponds in their platts. Their quote included stripping an area near the pond of its topsoil and backfilling with the spoils to create a building site, which currently the property doesn't have. This, I feel, will increase the value of property more than the increase in the cost of his quote over the lowest quote. I also have experience with his company and know that they have the biggest and the best when it comes to equipment and operators.
So.............what about the pumping?
