Hi,

We are in the process of purchasing 30 acres of land. Part of the land has been mined for shale and with a large area that has been dug with earth moved and cleared already. We are looking to build a large pond but are in need of some contractors who are experienced with pond building?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Where are you located? I live in Jonesboro Arkansas. My dad has done quite a few ponds over the years. He has the equipment to build any size lake anyway you want it and has access to used concrete etc. How big of a lake do you want? Are you need just a levee?

Hi,

Thank you for the response! The property is in Searcy, Arkansas. The area that has been used for part of a shale quarry is around 6 acres. The lake may not can be this big/ some of it may need to be filled in. I am unsure as some of it has rocky base so it may not all hold water? But if this is something that may be possible, send any contact information and I can be in touch potentially in the future!

Also contact the NRCS office that is in your county. They should have a list of pond contractors. Do your due diligence. There are many dirt movers, few know how to build a pond so that it holds water. If you don't have clay that is suitable to make pottery, ask the contractor what they will use to compact the soil. If they say they will use a dozer and track over the ground to compact it, politely thank them and keep searching for someone that knows how to seal a pond.

The rocky base is an issue, those rocks will have to be dug out, and 18"-24" of good clay type dirt will have to be brought in and compacted over that area. It costs about as much to seal a poorly constructed pond as it did to dig it in the first place.