Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Starting over...

Daniel, welcome to the forum! A novice can do it, but they need to do a bunch of reading on it. It's more than just pushing dirt around. A proper dam needs a properly compacted keyway, you need to look into designing a primary and secondary spillway, etc. There are lots of guys out there that can dig a hole in the ground, or dam up a ravine, but few that can do it so that it holds water.

If you have the time, you should be able to research and read on how to do it.

You can't compact the soil correctly by driving over it with a dozer or excavator. A sheepsfoot roller or one of those multi tired scrapers (loaded) can do it.