Excavator Work After Heavy Rain: Pond Dredging and Muddy Conditions

Pond Dredging Amidst Wet Conditions

• 🌧️ Heavy rainfall has made the pond build site extremely wet and muddy, impacting progress.
• 🚧 The team is working on dredging a 6-acre pond, with a focus on clearing vegetation and reshaping the old pond dam.
• 🚜 A friend is assisting with pushing topsoil using a D7 dozer, while the excavator (220) is used for stripping vegetation and pulling back slopes.

Excavator Operations and Challenges

• ⚠️ The excavator is being used to remove vegetation from the old slope and prepare for tying in the new slope.
• 🚚 Dump trucks are being used to haul material, but the wet ground makes it difficult for them to operate without getting stuck.
• 💡 The team discovered that using full buckets with the 220 excavator is less efficient for loading trucks than using smaller buckets with a 350 excavator.

Mud and Ground Conditions

• 🚧 The ground is rutting up badly due to the rain, and the team is concerned about getting stuck.
• 💧 Efforts are being made to push water through and manage the wet conditions, but progress is slow.
• ⚠️ The D7 dozer also encountered soft spots, highlighting the pervasive muddy conditions.

Progress and Future Plans

• 🎯 Despite the challenges, the team managed to haul approximately 45 truckloads, totaling around 900 cubic yards of dirt.
• 🌊 A coffer dam was created to keep material drier, and efforts were made to lay back slopes to allow for drying.
• 📈 The goal is to complete the dredging and then use the dozer to blade over everything and fill in ruts.
• 🚧 The plan is to finish cutting out the cove, haul material to fill sections, and manage the wet ditch area.