Five Steps to Building a Farm Pond

There’s nothing like the feeling of owning your own piece of land. Rural real estate. Farm country. The feeling of being a Texas land baron, whether you have one acre or one thousand, comes with a sense of life accomplishment. And when you have your land, a nice pond for fishing, aesthetics or otherwise is like the cherry on top. Follow these five steps to building a farm pond to make your acreage even more enjoyable.

Step 1: Planning

Since this is 2018 and governments are what they are, you’re likely gonna need a permit. Easiest thing to do is to check with any neighbors who also have a pond and see what they did. It’s possible the pond they have was preexisting and they did nothing, or it’s just as likely they had to jump through a few hoops to get it and finding out which hoops will save you time.

Step 2: Find a Natural Water Source

Now that you have the permits, which likely could’ve involved a survey of your land with the proposed pond’s location, you need to see if water naturally flows through the area. Building a large hole in the ground is great for a swimming pool, but a pond needs a natural water source to maintain the water level. There are all sorts of natural water sources like underground springs, rain run-off areas, or small streams so you should be okay as long as there’s no land improvements that block water access.

Step 3: Soil Testing

Each state’s soil varies a little which will dictate how well the pond holds water, but in North Texas, we here at Marley Dozer Service recommend getting a soil test by digging test holes to determine the subsoil structure in the pond location. This is very important step and will determine if your pond will be a success or a waste of money.

Step 4: Start Digging

This is where a local pond excavation contractor like Marley Dozer Service comes in handy. Digging the pond is going to require heavy equipment like bulldozers, back hoes and more to properly build the pond. Trying to DIY the project and operating the heavy equipment in order to shave a few bucks off the job will show in the end result. If you have zero experience building ponds, please leave it to the professionals who can guarantee a great pond.

Step 5: Frogs, Fish and Wooden Docks

Once you have the pond dug, you may want to add things like wildlife – fish, frogs, ducks, etc – but nature will probably make that happen anyway. A few things that won’t magically appear are water pumps to keep the pond water clear and wooden decks to be able to sit by the water and enjoy the pond. One may want to add a decorative fountain on top of that pump for aesthetic reasons. If the pond is big enough, a large dock would be a great addition to the plan so you can park your boat.

Connect with Marley Dozer Service when you’re ready to take your land to the next level and add that pond. FYI, ponds are also called “tanks” in some parts. Call us at (940) 229-1839 or use this contact form.