Hey guys, I’m new to the forum, looking for some advice. I have a 2.5 acre pond that has dried up, it has between 4-8 feet of silt in the bottom. I’ve got some quotes from some contractors, but don’t have the money currently. I do have the money to rent a large excavator for a week or two. My dad has experience with an excavator and he thinks we could do it. I would like to make the dam wider and essentially make the pond a little smaller but dig it out back to the original 10-12’ deep. It is currently 4’ deep when it had water. I don’t have any experience so was wondering what you guys think? I would like to use the spill dirt to make the dam wider and extend a few peninsulas, but the silt is fairly wet. Can that dirt be used to add to the dam, and if so, does it need to be dried out first before placed in its permanent location? Is this something worth trying or should I save up and hire a contractor? Thanks!

You are describing a pretty substantial project how dry is the muck? You will probably need a dump truck also. If the material is good and dry you could put it on the back side of the dam but it will be very soft when it gets wet.

You'll need to get past the muck to find material that's useful for building peninsulas or shoring up the dam.

The muck makes great topping after it dries out for a year or two.

If you're going to clean it out yourself be careful that you don't dig through the clay liner.

It’s dry enough to walk on, but if you dig down it’s still pretty wet.

That’s what I was wondering, wasn’t sure if that dirt could be used to build things up or not. I have heavy clay soils and there is enough dirt I could take off the edges to widen the dam. Is the best option for the muck to just pile it up out of the pond and let it dry? Or as CB100 suggested I have enough room behind the dam for most of it where I could put it and not have to worry about moving it later?

I have cleaned them out and just dropped the muck on the backside of the dam, widening it and making a longer slope on the backside, it will stay muddy for a yr or two but will eventually dry out to where you can shape the slope any way you want, its much better on the back side of the dam where it doesn't erode back into the pond as much.
I drained and cleaned out a pond last fall with an excavator and a tracked loader and it worked great, but I am not sure how well an excavator by itself would work, due to the fact that they wont reach across a very big area and will also have to throw the spoils within reach of the excavator, we set the excavator on the dam and dipped the silt out of the pond and set it on the backside of the dam but we had the tracked loader to push it to within the reach of the excavator. basically used the loader or a dozer would work too, to clean out the pond and just used the excavator to move the slop, because you can push it up and over the dam very efficiently, if at all.

Excavator by itself is inefficient because you are moving dirt several times. Limitations on where the dirt can be placed is determined by the length of the boom.

Creeker37, welcome to the forum. Do you happen to know Joe LeMaster (Big Joe) there in OKC/Midwest City area or does your Dad? If yes, send me a PM.

You need to put the dirt on the back side of the dam. If put anywhere in the pond you won't be removing the accumulated nutrients and you won't be able to compact it properly to hold it in place. Like others have said, you will need more than the excavator. I'd say a dump truck and a tracked bobcat or a dozer to push it around/smooth it out once it's dumped out of the dump truck.

No, we don’t know Big Joe.

Thanks for the info, I was on the fence about trying it myself and I think I’m going to wait and have someone do it for me. I appreciate it fellas!