It will take a large 4WD wheeled backhoe to build a 1/4 acre pond in a reasonable time. Those are not easy to haul either, some weighing 20,000 lbs. A small dozer would be very useful in that situation, with a rear ripper, to dig, level, and finish. The backhoe with loaded bucket could be used for compacting the dam as it's built up. We used both a Case 650K dozer and a large Case backhoe to do my two 1/4 acre ponds.
