Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Pond costruction costs

Hi, Everyone. I just registered today and have a couple of questions.
I know this question has been addressed in earlier threads. However, I have a questions about costs to build a pond for my specific area of the country, which is the Weatherford/Azle part of N. Texas. I've talked to some folks in this area who are dozer operators/excavators/pond builders, etc. etc. just to get a "rough" idea of costs for a 1/2-1 acre pond (stock tank. I've been told that $5,000-$10,000 will do it...then I saw a post on here that said it could be upwards to $30,000 "turn-key" ! Realizing there are variables to any construction project--somebody please tell me the wide discrepency in those prices????

Glen- I completed my new pond 1/2 acre a year ago and the costs are as follows. I am 9 ft deep at the deepest end and slope 3 to 1. I moved about 1000 cubic yards and that cost $4000.00, I also put a 10 mil liner in it and covered that with 1 ft of top soil. The liner was about $1000.00. Drilled a well and bought a submiserable to fill it at $2000.00 Installed and aeration systems, Diffuser and top water splasher. I raise trout so need lots of O2. Fish cost roughly $600.00. I also of course planted fairway crested wheat on the banks and added some plants. I also had to run 220 voltage line at $500. Extra's $500.00, so depending on your dirt contractor and if he has to haul it off you should do it for 10k easily. If you don't need to line the pond or haul dirt you can do it for much less. Make sure you get a qualified guy that has built one before. Also make sure you get a bottom diffuser so you can mix the water properly and keep unwanted problems down the road in check.

Hope this helps-JD

Glen,

This post is tailor made for Mike Otto. Hopefully he'll add his comments. Using USDA Ag Handbook 590 as my source, ponds are either excavated or impounded. In my case, the land is flat, no chance of building a dam to contain water. Therefore, my pond needed to be excavated using a tracked excavator, dozer and two 10 wheel dump trucks. Fortunately, all the spoils were dumped within 50 yards of the pond so trucking distance was kept to a minimum. This opeartion presented a certain cost schedule. Match this against having to just install a dam and I think you begin to see where cost differences can add up. This just scratches the surface but hopefully it helps.

Russ

The other option is to find gravel or some other precious comodity on your property below the water table. Then you get a pond and a profit, ofcourse you can never drain your pond and you don't get to design it. Not very practicle.

are you building it in a gully or a flat area? hauling in dirt or got it there? clay or not clay; springs/creeks/adequate runoff or having to drill a well? dozer guys...mine were great, treat them good, they will take care of you!! don't hire a guy to save a few bucks an hour...get the guy who has built a bunch of ponds, then go look at those ponds and ask the owners how close to the estimate it was at the finish of the project. some dozer guys specialize in roads, or clearing land...then some have the reputation for building good ponds. build it right, with the right people the first time, and in the long run you will save money and time and tears! here's a suggestion also, check with your city, county, and state street departments...ask for the supervisor/top dog. then approach that person with a "deal"...they excavate your dirt (if it is a flat area), and they can get cheaper dirt/landfill in return. they otherwise would have to pay for their machinery, AND pay some guy for his property/dirt/fill. they are going to dig somewhere anyway, why not dig where the dirt is free or cheaper! that way you both benefit. I tried this, and they offered, which could have save me 5-10 grand in my project, but they couldn't do it for a few months and i needed it done sooner. they might not be able to shape it and do exactly what you need to complete it, but they might make a big dent in it to save your expense on dozers and hauling out dirt. also, check your farm services/usda office...formerly know as the ascs/soil conservation service...the engineer/surveyor for our local department came out with his equipment and "shot the lines", flagged the spill way, water level at full, etc. he came out several times throughout the 3 month project, and was great. and did it for free, compliments of my tax dollars...wow! the spill way is very important...you don't do it right, you could get water over the top of the dam, and then the tears could shed. so don't just "guess", contact the engineer at your local dept. mentioned above. don't forget to take pictures of your pond bottom and structure before fills up so you can map it out later. have fun!

Glen, the general area you're in should have clay 2-4 feet below the surface dirt, I doubt you would need a liner to hold water. But, get a dozer expert in there before you even start, you'll be suprised at his observations. His estimate should be free, he should also give you watershed estimates along with several building options. Your cost will be directly associated with how many cubic yards he has to move. The slope of your land will be a big player too. One thing to remember, you'll only get to build the size once, stretch the pocketbook to maximize the size, you won't regret it ! Good Luck !

Thanks a lot, everybody!I pulled a copy of the publications from USDA & TP & W, and other links that were posted on this forum. All this is really good info--I know it'll save me some "grief"!
If anyone else has direct experience in my part of Texas, let me know about your experiences.
Thanks again!

Glen, one last thing. If you need a dozer man, try Roy Varner out of Ranger, send me an e-mail if you want his phone #. He's doing my Dam and came with excellent references. The down side is that he's out until Fall building lakes in SW Texas, but I doubt you will catch any rainfall until then anyway with the Texas Summer coming. He's done a great job for me so far, clearing, test holes, and laying out options for me. I'm sure terrain plays a part, but $1.10 per cubic yard sounded fine to me. He knows his stuff, I always have research to do after I talk to him, doubt you would be disappointed bringing him in for a look around the place.

My property is 360ft wide and has elevation change of 5 ft. The ponds here (Branham, TX) have to be at least 10 ft deep to keep water through the summer, so we had to move lot of dirt.
I ended up paying $1500 to clear the land, $8000 for the original estimate(3/4 ac pond), and about $2000 in additional complications, like pumping out the hole twice because of rain. I paid $65/hr for D6 with an operator. I wanted to start on my second pond this summer, but I am getting quotes of $85/hr for D6. I don't know if it is entirely because of the fuel cost, but that's a big jump.

ed, i'm not a pond expert by any means, but i personally think you paid quite a bit for you 3/4 acre pond! 8000 bucks seems pretty steep for that size pond unless you had to haul in clay or add bentonite etc. but if that 8 grand is just for the dozer fee for about 124 hours of work, i just wouldn't think it would take that long to build a 3/4 acre pond. I built a 7 acre pond, 25 feet deep at the deep end, a dam with an estimated 18-20 thousand yards of dirt, and some extra stuff like dozing some feed plots, a road, removing the old road, getting rid of some old trees, all for about 38-40k. the initial estimate for a 4 acre pond was 15 grand or so, and they got to that point at 13k, but i went a head and made it bigger. so, depending on your variables, i'd check around with other folks. hopefully you didn't get an inexperience dozer guy/lake builder who still charges the same as those guys who doze roads or trees. 85/hr seems steep, but maybe that is the going rate in that area. check around and ask the pros on this site. good luck. mark

I had my 1/2 acre pond w/all the dirt from the dig to make a levee done for $3600. That included a big trackhoe and a d6 dozer and the outfall pipe to drain the overflow
I am in South Mississippi though

Glen, My 1 to 1.5 acre tank at Bowie cost about 7k. There are a lot of variables. What is the site like? Are you stopping up an area between 2 hills or excavating? How deep and how much dirt work has to be done?

Mark and all, thanks for your feedback. That has been my problem since I bought this place in the country. Contractors see a guy from the city and they try to screw me. The people at the city hall allerted me to that, but that was after I had the pond made. On the positive side, I got a guy that built most of the ponds in this area back when the government payed 50% or more of the cost as part of a program to stop soil errosion. He did a good job. The other positive is, that my next pond is going to be much bigger. Live and learn.

To fill in some more of the details, the pond was on existing creek that had lot of mud sediment and the dozer guy said that he can's get very good grip untill he gets below that. I have more clay than I know what to do with. As a result, I have about 2" visibility. In a gallon vase that has been sitting for 3 days now, the visibility is 4" - barely. But with the wind action lapping the clay and catfish stirring up the bottom, I am not going to pour money into temporary solutions to clear it up.

The way you guys come clean with your true confession tales of pond construction, it would be tough for a shyster to make a living around here. Love it.
Mark McDonald
editor, Pond Boss

Having just joined and not having any blue water experience with cost at this point, I would agree with the above estimates. From all that I have read (Ag pub#590 and other sources as well as this website), $5k per acre is a good general estimate unless there is not enough suitable soil or a large amount of soil excavation is required. In that circumstance, $10k per acre is not unreasonable.

Good to have you aboard, Jim!