The cut in my dam was narrow and cut with a back hoe. That's why we could not compact it well, and maybe part of the reason I still have a leak. If you cut the dam with a dozer, and make a wide, shallow v cut, you should be able to compact it back with wheeled equipment. With our latest pond, we used a 20,000 lb backhoe with a yard plus of dirt in the front bucket to compact the entire basin and rather shallow dam.
Edit: My old 1/4 acre pond renovation including removal of 5 feet of muck cost under $2,900 and construction of the new 1/4 acre pond which is about 60% excavation and 40% dam cost just under $2,800. Neither have piped spillways, as watershed is limited, and I have creek water available about seven months of the year.
Last edited by John F; 01/27/17 12:28 PM. Reason: added paragraph
