Going to try and post pics | Page 6 | Construction and DIY projects | Forums

I envy you your pond, your clay content, and that your project is humming along, while I am still getting things lined up for my own property.

Would you be willing to share your story of how you selected your "bulldozer guy", what sort of selection process and criteria, how you found him, contract bullet points, and how much he is charging?

I am especially interested in details concerning the pond excavation and costs of the dirt work for the pond as I am wanting a pond about half that size. (Ideally about 90' x 120' x 12') Expense is my major obstacle, so hearing about yours may help.

That is all stuff I am getting ready to go through myself. (Update pending on my own thread...)

2000 is beyond great. Particularly for a pond that large.

I will need to try doing a better job talking to locals. Not sure how to find people that would have had recent work. Perhaps local farm supplies is the only thing I can think of.

I doubt I will have the clay that you have. I refuse to use a liner, so I might need to truck it in. If so, I might just have a giant hole that holds no water till I can eventually afford to truck in enough clay.

I have walked my own property quite a bit. I have also spent countless hours examining the contours and slopes of the land in Google Earth. Water will run southeast from the wilderness property along my north border. I plan to place the pond on the northeast side of my property, my buildings will be just a tad above to the west. Water should flow right into the pond and overflow can drain into the valley's runoff stream.

The primary purpose of my pond will be fire control. My property is heavily wooded and surrounded by woods. The pond was a maybe till I talked to my local fire department who suggested it for fire control. They warned me that they have been out to my area to fight fires before when things get dry. Likely people ignoring burn bans or some other idiotic causes. I do not have any reliable water source should a fire break out. No city water, no well, etc. Even if I had a well, it would be a fissure well, not an aquifer well. That means it would be tapping a finite and limited store of water. That is just the geology of where my property is.

Hence, the local fire department suggested a pond of at least 40,000 to 60,000 gallons so they could drop hoses into it as their water source. Ideally I am wanting the pond to hold much more water than that. Closer to 600,000 gallons, or 10 times their recommendation.

While the main reason for the pond is fire control, I want it to be multi-purpose. It will cool the area around it in summer, attract wildlife, enhance the property and raise the property value, it will help infuse ground water into my property year round (I plan to include a ground tap with shutoff valve for this purpose.), it will be reserve water supply since my only source is rainwater harvest, it will be stocked with fish for food and recreation, it will offer swimming in the summer, and an ice rink in the winter. As time goes on, I may think of other benefits.