Dredging out my 2.5 acre pond. I plan to spread out some of the silt on my property so it can dry and hopefully be pushed into somewhat of a berm. Some silt on the back side of pond will need to be moved by trucks. Any idea if someone would pay for the silt or do I need to pay dump trucks to remove the material?

I have used my silt/muck from my pond renovation to lay over areas of the yard that had exposed clay that did not grow grass weel or at all . These areas grow grass better than the good areas from before.

With that said...it all depends on the nutrient content of the silt and if you can find someone who needs better top soils like I did. Too much nutrients and the silt will burn plants just like too much fetrtilizer. Too little nutrients as might happen if your pond rapidly silted in with sand or clay and all you have is good fill dirt. You'll know pretty quick if weeds and grassses take ahold this spring and propser. My muck remnants compares to good top soil that is on the finer side and could use some sand to help it drain. This is really only an issue when I use it for potting tree saplings and the like and then only important when planting trees/plants that perfer well drained soils. Tulip poplars, elms, catalpas, river birch, persimon, coffee bean, mullberry, and chokeberry have all loved the muck, but the harder woods like oak, hickory, and walnut all wanted better drainage. Southern Magnolias really wanted more sand in the mix.

As for a paying customer, they would not want it in the wet form, but seasoned for a time to help it be handled easier.

Thanks. Yes my plan is to spread it out and let dry as best as possible then form into a large berm on my property. Good point in checking silt quality ahead of time. Pond sure grows a bunch of weeds right now... so maybe that is a good sign.

I had mine spread on the back side of the dam and below the dam.

Was it easy to pile up or was more like soup? The damn is in a floodway so can't pile it there but want to berm it up as high as possible. I've heard it can take a very long time to firm-up.

Our valley was essentially an 80yr old stilted in pond. Topsoil is more than 5ft deep in some areas. The dozer company's yard is 6mi away. During the renovation they made a huge pile and hauled it away over the course of a year. Last year they needed 3000+ yds so we got a "free" expansion.

If you don't have a big enough area to spread it,I've always wondered if you could make a holding pen of sorts using bales of straw to build the walls, and staking them down so the don't move. I would think the straw would let the water drain off, and let it breath some.

That’s an interesting idea. I wonder how well a silt fence would work for that same solution.

That would be ideal. Nice! Sounds like people will take it if it’s firm.

My muck did not dry out but for 6 months, but was not hard to scoop and drop. One day the excavators had left at quiting time...all looked good piled up on the back side of the dam until the next morning...the muck "lava" had slowly flowed and spread out 6 feet further than they wanted and filled in a catch basin that had to be dug back out. At one point, I tried walking out on the freshly piled muck and would have sunk into the stuff until my eyes were the only thing showing had I taken one more step. It can be decieving and therefore dangerous.

That’s what I’ve read, very hard to dry out. I was going to drain my pond out a few months before we started digging in hopes that would help. Seems like you almost need to build a retaining wall.

It was sloppy muck. The contractor wanted to leave it piled up and come back in a few months to spread it out after it dried. I knew it would be near impossible to get them back out as it took 6 months of waiting to get to me. I convinced him that while the dozer was already dirty a little muck wouldn't hurt it. He really did not want to do it but finally relented. Considering how difficult the job was the kid running it did a real nice job and I paid for the extra hours worked and them some.

Interesting idea on using the straw. I am looking to remove some silt from my pond, but am struggling with where to place it. My fear is that if its too close to the pond it'll just flow right back in since I have a pretty gradual grade leading to the pond. Maybe not on its own, but after a rain storm.

Sounds like the geo-textile bags and hydrolic dredge may be the best bet in my case to condense the sediment... Will see what kind of pricing I get back.

Have had the best luck cleaning out the muck in a pond after cutting the dam and letting it dry for a summer, then it will pile up a little better but still take another hot summer or two to make it be desirable as spreading for topsoil, but thereafter it will make some super great growing dirt, for anything from a garden to yard landscaping.

If you have the equipment, turn it over after 2-3 months and after 2-3 more turn it and add organic matter such as saw dust or small wood chips....maybe spray it with Round-Up a few times during cure. After a year total, you should have good topsoil? ~$300/load here...$100 more if you sift it....cousin just cleaned out an old 1.1 acre pond and has probably 200+ loads.

We spread my silt as much as possible during dredging in Aug 2015. That 1/4 acre pond made a row of silt about 30-40 feet wide and well over a hundred feet long, about 2-3 feet deep. It took almost a year to dry enough to spread. I had a very small dozer come in midsummer of 2016 and spread and contour it. It now hosts some of the best grass in the field.

That muck looked like low slump wet concrete when it first came out, and smelled a lot like sewage. When it first crusts over after about a month of hot weather, it will crack and look to be dry, but if you punch at it with a spud bar, it will suddenly break through and go all the way to the bottom.

Was the silt pulled out of the pond when it was drained or was there still water in the pond when the silt was pulled out? I have a few acers to spread it out... just trying to figure out how much space it will take up.

It was mostly drained when we started pulling out the silt. I don't think it would be a sellable product until thoroughly dried, after about a year in most places.