I have built a few erosion control ponds for the NRCS programs and also cattle feeding ponds which basically mean they have to have a waterline coming thru the base of the dam for cattle watering which is no big deal if you wind up never watering cattle, but they have to be fenced, my experience was all the red tape and overbuilding you have to do for them to share a percentage of the cost, your out of pocket cost is not that much more to just have it built on your own, they want astronomical freeboard which means building a dam for an acre pond that winds up allowing 1/2 and acre of surface water with a 8 ft of free board. jmo

All the really good ideas I've ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.