Dredging a Pond?

[scesnick]

Hello,
I have a pond that is about 3/4 acre in size on my property and is probably about 50 years old. It is spring fed and also fed with a small run off creek that runs through the woods and into the pond. It is very clean and clear water.
Over the years the pond has filled up with silt and muck to the point where it is now only about 4 ft. deep. Since we built our house close to this pond a few years ago my wife would like to make a small beach out of one side of it and have a swimming area for the kids. If I were to just throw the gravel/rocks/sand into it now to make the swimming area all the material would most likely just sink into the silt.
Any idea how to dredge this pond successfully without spending a fortune on renting a large crane to do the job?

Thanks,
Shawn

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Shawn,
Good to hear you on TBN again. I havent seen any posts from you rescently.

You mention that the pond is spring fed, would there be any way to drain the pond temporarily ? Then use a backhoe to get as muck muck out along the perimeter as possible before dumping sand along the outside for a swim area for the kids ?

 

[scesnick]

That could be a possibility. I have a Case 580 backhoe. Not sure how long it would take to refill however. and I could gaurantee you that I would end up getting my hoe stuck in the mud. I am always the optimist and I know I would get myself in trouble thinking I can reach out "Just a little more"

I wonder if there is some kind of truck that could possibly suck it out? Much like a septic tank? Of course if I go that route I may as well just rent a crane.

BTW, I have been around, just haven't posted that much. None of my machines have broke down lately.... lol.

 

[EddieWalker]

You have two options, drain and dig, or excavate it with a long reach tracked excavator.

The cheaper option is to drain it and dig it out with your tractor. It's gonna be allot of seat time, but not impossible. Just be sure to dig down to a solid base and you will be fine.

The long reach excavator is designed for doing just what you want done, but it's gonna cost you. It will make a huge mess and the cleanup will be a chore, but you have to get rid of the silt anyway.

Either way, it's gonna look pretty bad for awhile, but then it will look nice again and be better then before.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[scesnick]

Eddie,
I knew you would have the answer. I was waiting for your reply. The problem with me digging it is this. The banks on the pond are about 4ft. high in all but the spot the wife wants the beach. No way to get my hoe down in there without just runnig it down in and then I will be stuck for sure. ( hard to explain this really ) hope you understand what I am saying.

I was thinking there might be some kind of attachment for a tractor that you could pull through the bottom of the pond and sort of pull the silt out.. Hmmm,,, might be a market for this type of attachement if anyone is good at fab work..

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

My county has an old dragline on wheels that still works. It might be auctioned off soon. It also has a bucket with holes for digging in water. I was wondering if there is a market for cleaning out old ponds and what it would pay? I'm guessing the boom is about 50 feet but the guy said with practice, you can throw the bucket out further.

My pond needs cleaning out too. It would be much better if I build a smaller retention pond before the main pond to catch the silt.
I know I'd pay easily 2-3K if I could get one end cleared out. I'd use our tractor to push away the spoils.

 

[AlanB]

I see pictures of those things that I believe is what Eddie is talking about all the time in my Dixie Contractor magazine. Ungainly looking things, but when they show them working, you can see why, and it is exactly to avoid the getting stuck problem.

To me you have another time vs. money problem. If you have the time, and patience, I think you could just work it with your hoe, a little at a time, adding gravel etc to prevent getting stuck.

Do they operate those extended reach track hoe's much up in your area?

 

[scott_vt]

My county has an old dragline on wheels that still works. It might be auctioned off soon. It also has a bucket with holes for digging in water. I was wondering if there is a market for cleaning out old ponds and what it would pay? I'm guessing the boom is about 50 feet but the guy said with practice, you can throw the bucket out further.

My pond needs cleaning out too. It would be much better if I build a smaller retention pond before the main pond to catch the silt.
I know I'd pay easily 2-3K if I could get one end cleared out. I'd use our tractor to push away the spoils.

Afternoon Kyle,
Those old drag lines are nifty to watch them operate. They had a few of them in operation at a show up in Canandaiqua, Ny steam show a few years back. That would definitely be the ticket for pond dredging !

The only problem is I dont think Scesnick could get it up on top of his mountain

 

[EddieWalker]

The problem with me digging it is this. The banks on the pond are about 4ft. high in all but the spot the wife wants the beach. No way to get my hoe down in there without just runnig it down in and then I will be stuck for sure...

My small pond is 3/4 of an acre. It was originally a low spot from a dirt quary and was about 2 feet deep in places, but mostly , just a mud puddle. I could walk across most of it, but there were plenty of areas that I would also sink into.

I rented a pump and drained it the best I could. Then I dug a ramp to get in and out close to were I wanted to put the dirt. The guys who were taking the dirt from the land before me had left some very ugly cliffs. I wanted to build a ramp that I could drive up and down from the cliffs, and clean up the the look of the place by creating a nice slope from the cliffs.

After draining it, I waited about a month before driving into it. I got stuck right away and had to pull myself back out with the hoestick. For about a week, I just worked on digging down through the silt until I found a solid bottom. This was really a terrible experience and might be a deal breaker.

Once I was on solid ground, I just scooped up the mud and silt in the front bucket and hauled it to the cliff area. I did this all day long for two months. It wasn't fun, but it wasn't hard either. Just going back and forth, over and over again, hauling one yard at a time.

My pond is five feet deep when full with two areas that I dug out deeper with the backhoe to create holes in the bottome that are another 4 to 5 feet deeper.

I had access to a John Deere 450G dozer and tried to dig it with that, but the clay was too hard for it to cut it. In fact, it was totally useless, which lead me to buying my dozer.

Dam up the spring, dig a ramp and suffer through it.

Good Luck,
Eddie

 

[scesnick]

The only problem is I dont think Scesnick could get it up on top of his mountain

You are right about that. The last mile of my 2.5 mile driveway/road is tree lined and has some thight turns in it. You should have seen them delivering the tractor trailer load of logs for my log home a few years back. They were not happy campers.