Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam Third time has to be the charm, right?

I've been on and off the board over the last year and a bit and have received great advice, so here goes...one more time.

Still trying to get water dammed up. I've got jedd soil just south of Bastrop Texas. The first dozer guy (from the area) I had out looked only at the ravines I have that I'd like to dam up. Saw sandstone and said it would hold water, no problem. Said sandstone is held together by clay. I'm not a geologist but his reasoning sounded, well, sound.

Brought out the NRCS guys and they basically said according to their surveys, the soil should hold but they were not interested in the pond holding, they were only interested in controlling the spillway. Thanks guys...waste of time.

Wanted to get a second opinion from another dozer guy. Let me preface by saying that I don't think he has worked my type of soil before. He is scared of the sandstone. We got a backhoe out and dug about 4 feet down, found about a 12 inch layer of clay, but busted through sandstone also. He doesn't want to dig it because of the sandstone and he doesn't know if he can get enough clay to build the dam. Asked him about lining with drillers mud and he said he hates to do it because he finds that the sides erode and will leak eventually when the mud ends up in the bottom of the tank instead if on the sides.

Brings me to my current state of frustration. There are no less than 2 tanks within 200 yards of me that hold water, so the ground has to be ok, right?

I guess I'm just venting but need to ask if anyone knows of a good dozer guy in or nearby Bastrop, TX that I can get a 3rd opinion from? I guess my thought process is that a third guy who works my area will have experience with this soil and his opinion will give me a 2 to 1 ruling either for or against building this thing.

Any thoughts on my situation or recommendations on a good dirt man around here will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys,

Gunny

Need to get Otto in on this.

Hey Mike.

Oof. Well, if anyone comes across a recommendation for a good dozer guy in my area, please let me know. I have an appointment with someone Monday, but I'm wary as I don't have any endorsements and have not seen any of his work yet. Just saw this guys house (where he advertises) near my property and am hoping for the best. I'll try and go see some next week, so wish me luck.

Gunny

Talk to the NRCS. They will have a list. However, the list is open to any dozer guy who wants to sign on.

Check a lot of references.

Gunny, I'd give Mike Otto a call and ask for a recommendation if he can't do it. He's listed in the resources section here.

Thanks Guys. I'm a bit wary of the NRCS right now. May give them a call, but...maybe not.

Like I said, I have a guy coming tomorrow and if I don't get a good vibe, I'll probably call Mike.

Gunny

Okay I have to jump in on this one. I'm in Central Texas working on a pond also. I had the NRCS guyes out and they where not intrested in my project. Yea, I got their list it's 15 years old. I called many of the companies on it and most of them where retired. All the people I talked to were really nice. I did get a referal from one person and had them come out, but I don't think they understood the scope of the work. Check with Texas A&M or the Dept of Ag. they have some really great people working there. You just got to get lucky and ask the right questions to the right person.

Wow, thanks Ranch Hand. I feel special that you burned your first post on me. Is your location near me? I'd like to hear how your job goes and if you are impressed with your dirt man.

Thanks on the TAMU or DoAg idea, never thought of them.

Gunny

Well right now I am the dirt man. I have an old pond that breached many years back so right now I am clearing out all the brush from the lake area. It's a long term project - i have limited time - so once I get the area clear of brush and the old dam cleared out I'll be taking the next step to contact and engineer to help with the dam design. I do know that some of the dam inspectors are out of TAMU I am hoping that they know some engineers that work on small projects. But there is no need calling them until I have the site prepred.

That's a great way to shave the cost of the pond rebuild, Ranch hand. It may take a little longer, but it's probably pretty satisfying to see your share of the work going into it. Have any pictures you can post of your place? If so, start a new thread for them.

And welcome to Pond Boss! Glad you joined into the discussions!

We build most of our ponds ourselves. We get ideas from NCRS and make sure everything will work. But we have the equipment and the know how (my dad is very wise in this area). We do use a dozer guy who is very good at what he does to cut the spillways.