Building Lake Corona

   / Building Lake Corona #242  
Figured, but just saw the shutoff at the other end.

I bought pipe and check valves to put a ram pump in my creek to pump water out. never did get it built.
 
   / Building Lake Corona
  • Thread Starter
#243  
Time for an update. I was able to get the pond drained and mucked out. Finally got a good full day of moving dirt in today. Made some really good progress. Unfortunately they are calling for 2-3" of rain tonight into tomorrow. Here's a few pics of where things stand at the moment. Dam is probably 7-8 feet right now. I have another 7-8 feet to go.

View from hillside I'm pulling dirt from toward the dam.

2020-06-08_05-36-27


Backside of dam looking back to hillside

2020-06-08_05-36-00


Side view

2020-06-08_05-36-09


Most likely another week or more before I'm moving dirt again if we get the rain they are calling for. On a positive note the dirt I'm scraping from the hillside couldn't be better for building the dam. Really high clay content. Here's what it looks like after a pass with the bucket.

2020-06-08_05-36-18
 
   / Building Lake Corona #245  
Does it get cold enough, for long enough, up there to freeze a pond like this for ice skating?
 
   / Building Lake Corona #246  
Very nice work
 
   / Building Lake Corona #247  
Yuck, I hate clay! Is that the material all over on the bottom of your pond? I suppose that is good for holding water though. We only get streaks of mucky clay. Mostly around here it is glacial till. Lots of small round rocks in silty/sandy soil under the rich acidic topsoil composted over years of evergreen forest growth. Drains extremely well.
 
   / Building Lake Corona #248  
One thing you DONT want as pond material is something that drains well!
 
   / Building Lake Corona #251  
This is awesome. I want a true pond so bad, by my 30 BHP tractor isn't going to dig me one. And I can't quite convince the wife to let us spend several thousand dollars contracting it out. Anyone in southeast Michigan want to rent me a proper excavator?
 
   / Building Lake Corona #252  
An excavator would not be my machine of choice. You need to be able to push large quantities or haul large quantities.

I have a clamshell scraper that I pull behind my tractor but it would be cumbersome in the OP's location. Going by the pics, he's got the right piece of equipment.
 
   / Building Lake Corona #253  
This is awesome. I want a true pond so bad, by my 30 BHP tractor isn't going to dig me one. And I can't quite convince the wife to let us spend several thousand dollars contracting it out. Anyone in southeast Michigan want to rent me a proper excavator?


Why not find a good blaster, much cheaper, much quicker. :laughing:
 
   / Building Lake Corona #254  
An excavator would not be my machine of choice. You need to be able to push large quantities or haul large quantities.

Well my topography is pretty well suited for just extracting scoop loads, turning around, and depositing. Repeat from 8 or 10 spots around the perimeter and you have a pretty nice hole. I'm only talking a 50x100 type pond, I suppose. The danger in a tracked or wheeled machine that you need to drive into and out of your pond hole is if it gets wet... and stays wet... you get stuck.
 
   / Building Lake Corona #255  
The OP has offered us a perfect example of how you deal with a wet pond hole. I'm pretty sure he's drained his twice, maybe more, and still able to excavate with his CTL.

It will take a very large excavator to dig a pond 50ft across.
 
   / Building Lake Corona #257  
The OP has offered us a perfect example of how you deal with a wet pond hole. I'm pretty sure he's drained his twice, maybe more, and still able to excavate with his CTL.

It will take a very large excavator to dig a pond 50ft across.

That’s what most people use up here. You can go a lot deeper that way. I know of ponds which have been dug 40 feet deep... hard doing that with a dozer.
 
   / Building Lake Corona #258  
That’s what most people use up here. You can go a lot deeper that way. I know of ponds which have been dug 40 feet deep... hard doing that with a dozer.

How much surface area would a 40ft deep pond have?

Excavators must be huge there. I've never saw one that would practically lift dirt 40ft. Pics would be awesome!!!!
 
   / Building Lake Corona #259  
You go down as far as you can, then move the excavator down to that level and keep digging. I have never seen it done but know people who have done it. It’s no different than a gravel pit or quarry which fills up with water.
 
   / Building Lake Corona #260  
You go down as far as you can, then move the excavator down to that level and keep digging. I have never seen it done but know people who have done it. It’s no different than a gravel pit or quarry which fills up with water.

But when you are down at the second level what do you do with your bucket full of dirt?

I think the OP has the right method.
 

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