Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Muck Bottom - HELP

Gus:

Removal of silt from ponds tends to be expensive because you're not just moving dirt, you're also handling water, and you have to move the dirt twice (get it out of the pond, then move it somewhere else). If it is possible for you to add depth by raising the dam, this is frequently a much more cost effective way of increasing volume (and acreage). See Lusk\'s comments here.

Two other threads to read on silt removal:
Cleaning out silted pond.
Renovating an old pond.

It is possible to deepen areas from the shore; master equipment guy Eddie Walker (actually, Eddie seems pretty good at everything except keeping a barber gamefully employed) notes that you will not be able to dig as far into the pond as you might think.

Anytime you dig out silt you may run the risk of piercing your water retaining clay layer; the size of this risk varies immensely with local soil conditions.

I am 99% sure that the new Perfect Pond book has good info on renovation; I will double check my copy tonight and confirm that. I highly recommend you buy a copy.