6-Acre Pond Build: Mulching, Excavation, and Dam Construction Begins

Pond Site Preparation

• 🚜 The team begins a 6-acre pond build project, facing potential rain delays with an 8-day forecast of precipitation.
• 🌳 Initial efforts focus on mulching down brush and small trees to clear the pond site and surrounding areas.
• 💡 Equipment mobilized includes a skid steer dozer, D7 350, compactor, skid steer with mulcher, 30-ton truck, and a Komatsu dozer.

Excavation and Dam Planning

• 🏞️ The plan involves combining two areas, digging out a hillside, and using the excavated clay for the new pond dam.
• 📏 The dam will extend 1,200 ft, connecting two points and requiring an additional 2 ft to its height to fill a valley.
• 🌾 A nearby field, unexpectedly planted with cotton, will be filled with sediment from the pond excavation to level the area.

Mulching and Clearing Operations

• 💨 A TMC Canella mulcher is used to break down vegetation, mixing it with the topsoil for organic decomposition.
• ⚠️ Challenges include encountering electric fence wire and a snake, as well as getting a skid steer stuck in wet conditions, requiring a dozer for extraction.
• 🪵 Larger trees are being plucked out by hand or with a dozer, with stumps being removed using a 350 excavator.

Progress and Next Steps

• ✨ The pond site is starting to open up, revealing the lay of the land and proving drier than initially expected in some areas.
• 💧 Wet areas, particularly a ditch, are noted as having significant mud, but the main pond area is holding up.
• 🎯 Future work includes finishing mulching, clearing remaining trees, and addressing the old pond dam on the other side, weather permitting.