Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions high water table

From experience (albet limited) I'd wait until the funds were beefed up a little more. 10 hrs won't go far unless you are really experienced in running the equipment, and if you have to pay to get it delivered, you don't want to have it delivered twice.

My neighbor had a pair of ducks in his pond, and besides constantly dabbling in the water at the water line, which eroded his banks, the water was constantly muddy. He got rid of the pair, and the water cleared up. This is in a 1/4 ac pond. Also, ducks could help contribute to "swimmers itch".

I know that you've got time to plan before digging, so I'd recommend getting a plan together, consult with the NRCS if possible, double/triple check the plan, then go from there.

An excavator can only move dirt as far as it can reach, and digging in water takes longer/isn't as precise as digging out of the water.

Once you get to the point of the hole filling in with water, you should have one deep hole where the water will run. Beg, borrow or rent a trash pump, 20' of rigid intake hose, and at least 100' of discharge hose. Get an innertube, snake the hose thru the inertube, hanging the screened intake about 18" below the tube. Tie it to the tube so it can't slip down any further. That will keep the intake off the bottom, and filling the intake hose with silt. You'll probably have to dig a shelf for the pump to sit on, and constantly move it deeper as the pond is dug deeper. They are more effecient at pushing water than sucking it.

If you've got the room to turn around, and can keep the water at bay, a dozer might be quicker to move the dirt if it doesn't have to go far. I don't know if a pan scraper will be feasable for that type of soil, but if you have the room, it's the quickest way to move dirt over 50 Yds., IIRC Mike Otto's recommendations.