We've had one pond built with a scraper and excavator. But, my contractors Dad began the business in the early 50's building Dams for the Feds Flood prevention program for the Washita River Watershed. He had 3 scrapers on my project and he and his son spent days digging and days more compacting the core trench and dam going over each lift repeatedly. Best I can tell 2 years later , not a drop lost. Wouldn't want just ANY DIRT MOVER doing the work with the scraper, But my builder has 60 years of experience building dams, & is very proud of his work. The quality of the clay to work with here, may be conducive to using a scraper also , I wouldn't know. Now, after all that, if I didn't have my contractor, I would insist on a sheepsfoot , but even with that, it doesn't guarantee the builder knows and keeps track of the moisture content or will take the time to make the proper # of passes over each lift to properly compact, there's more than just having a tool , there's how to properly use the tool.
