This Ponds Going To Be A Challenge!

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[@1013redoak]

My favorite type of video of all time, pond and mud digging! Thanks, Chris, I love the long videos as well! They never get boring! Can't wait until next week to see the plan you develop to dig that entire pond 12 feet deeper!

[@billrobbins5874]

Is that even possible?

[@jcgoogle1808]

Half the comments on here don't quite seem to get this is ground water in sandy soil. As Chris said, he has as much ground water coming from the hill as he does from the pond. There's nowhere to siphon and/or pump, either by trash pump or deep well since he's in a pond. Sheet piling wouldn't be practical. Those who mention long reach and drag lines have the idea. This, like the "big job" he worked on for the storage site, is one of the more interesting videos. It'll be interesting to see what he finally does.

[@jcgoogle1808]

He's also used mats in similar situations, but he wasn't excavating 12' deep.

[@anderleof]

Chris doesn't seem to get that this is ground water. Making the pond larger is not going to lower the water table.

[@barryhansen6854]

I feel your pain my water table is 1 1/2 below ground anything I do swamped in water if I'm digging plus when it rains you can't mow the lawns as the mower wheels sink down in the soft top soil.

[@dylan8285]

Chris sounds like you need a pump big enough to keep the ground water out while digging.

[@shitloveaduck]

Dylan - that size pump doesn’t exist. Ten of the biggest won’t keep ahead because that is just the water table. I am not sure he will get 12 ft deep either,,,,, gonna take a lot of work because the sand is always moving. It always levels itself out. We have irrigation lakes here that get dredged for depth to maintain fish and have decent volume. 300 acre lakes! After 10 or 12 years they are back to 8-10 ft deep with flat bottoms. They were dug out to 20-25 ft deep! Seems to be a natural balance there. They are not silting in either, just what the sandy bottom does. One near me is getting dredged out next year! Gonna mess up the fishing for a couple of years at least. It is an irrigation lake first mind you.

[@mlmmt]

I want to say in this situation that a slurry pump setup would be more effective than his excavator, just pump the water/sand mix to where you want it...

[@0778drz110]

Here in Florida they stick a bunch of 2" pvc pipe in the ground around the hole. Then hook em up to a bunch of pumps that run 24/7 to suck out enough of the ground water to dig a hole deeper than 3 feet.

[@CCscott]

“Flood the cut,” sounding a bit like Parker there, Chris.

[@rakeempeace2991]

Gold rush that's my show

[@Milldog2023]

you mean rick ness, lol

[@Theonlywone]

@@Milldog2023 Tod Hoffman

[@Milldog2023]

@@Theonlywone hes doing well in his singing i believe, last nights episode, rick ness pond broke its bank.

[@kasnitch]

@@Milldog2023 that entire berm was made of sand lol .. then heavy rains boom

[@keithhuseby6941]

Use the hole your starting with as a sump and run a trash pump out back into the pond or the bushes. Should help keep things a little less soggy

[@godscountry5784]

In Delaware we have the same problem! When they do in ground pools a mile from the beach they have to install piping down in the ground all around the area to be dug and run pumps to keep the water level down. If not when they install the pool it will actually float before the pool water is installed. So could you actually use a couple siphons to help slow it down so it's more workable?

[@onewhitestone]

I have a friend who digs ponds and he has a machine with a long reach, 40 ft. Its not as big of a bucket, but he can dig deep, just takes time.

[@demetresrobinson2694]

Chris If you didn't say that you're in North Carolina, people could easily think that you were on a job down in Florida somewhere.

[@equipment-enthusiast]

A 6in Thompson pump running would help out a lot. Just need to pump the pond down before you start digging and would help you out a lot with the surrounding water table.

[@southernoutdoors5515]

You need what we use down here in Alabama while digging on the beach for condominium footings..you need a well point system (called Dewatering system) around the area for the new pond to suck the water table down below your pond depth..

[@southernoutdoors5515]

Oops Oops cost depends on the size of pond., we have a dewatering company here it's the only way to dig below the water table..most companies just rent the entire systems. Pump, power points, discharge pipe,

[@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb]

Unless he can dispose of the water (he said he's not permitted to put any water in the canal), dewatering isn't going to work. Either he makes a temp pond to hold the water and let it perc away, or it looks like dragline time. Otherwise it's going to be a nightmare

[@garysavage5675]

You’ll never get twelve feet in that pond with running sand. Should have had a long reach and dig it like your excavating a Quarry take everything that you can get before having to move.😂

[@revxpkiller]

say goodbye to the tight bucket pins, sand is a good way to add some slop in a hurry especially with the liquid crap running over top the bucket

[@PMPCMining]

We have the same problem here in boise ID. 200 feet of river gravels and sand with a high water table. We have to put in pumps to lower the ground water in the area that we are excavating. Pump's put in 50 feet from where we are digging. Cut the pump off and the hole fills with water within minutes.

[@popstheoutdoorsman467]

Eastern NC at its finest never a dry moment heck post holes fill up with water as fast as you auger them

[@revtoyota]

I would treat it like I do my gravel pit here in AK. Run a 6-10 inch pump in a sump hole and keep it drained. Makes life so much nicer when digging in a wet environment like you had here.

[@bishop9598]

Interesting how everybody's got a suggestion on 'how-to-do-it" better. The pond (more of a small lake) that I used to live on for 40 yrs (until a couple yrs ago), had to be dredged back in '06. They didn't use a drag line. They did dam up the feeder canal (part of the water management drainage system in this SoFla city) and used a 12" pump - to empty out the pond (IIRC they had to run it 24/7 at times due to rains etc) - while they dug it out to 12'-15' depth with a 45deg bank slope - all sand - no clay / marl anywhere. They used a (IIRC) Link-Belt 5800 with a single Cat D250 dumper. Got the job (roughly 250' x 750' +) done in good order. So far it looks like you're doing just fine Chris. Part of being a prof operating engineer is figuring out how you can do a project the best way and get the job done. As far as eroding of the sand base - guaranteed over time - unless you use soil cement or something comparable.

[@SledgeHammer43]

Chris your only other option is to try to pump the pond down some. If that trees behind you is a lower area I might consider trenching to it to drain the water down. It is your best hope to lower your water table.

[@HappilyHomicidalHooligan]

It almost sounds like you need to dig out a DEEP hole (at least 6-10 feet deeper than the eventual depth of the pond) to collect all the local water, use a high-speed gas pump to clear out all the starting water and then use a Solar powered electric pump (saves on gas and refueling time) to keep it drained so the ground water collects in the hole rather than the sand you're digging out in the rest of the area...

[@stefanaxelsson513]

A sand and Mud fest. Thats the perfect job to call the Volvo dealer and tell them you can demo the 750 for them .

[@proger2373]

I remember when I lived in central Fla. when they would build a sub division they hired companies to keep water pumped out while they did their dirt work. A lot of pvc pipe drove into the ground and lot of pumping. It was a process but necessary in that area.

[@george8873]

Perhaps you could consult with someone local who builds ponds in the area about how best to approach this situation. They might know some tricks to make the job easier for you.

[@Dontworryboutit315]

One thing I enjoy about your videos is the consistency and originality. I’ve been subbed for years and it’s always been “raw” no fancy editing with horrible music, just you and the machine. I think it’d be cool to see a full day time lapse if you have a spare go pro laying around

[@chriscreech716]

Welcome to eastern North Carolina have a good weekend

[@jonathonpletcher5755]

I have had to help with a pond where the water level was 2 feet below ground so what we did was we dug a 40 by 40 by 20 foot deep hole and we used a 300 gallon a minute pump on it with a fine sand screen on the end that was in the hole it worked for us but I don't know if that would have worked with as big of a pond your doing it it would have helped to keep the water out of the rest of the pond you was digging

[@samson1200]

Heh heh, Better get the swamp matts.Have fun digging and draining..

[@thespook9808]

I ran into a situation like this many years ago - had a new Cat 225LC (that should give you an idea how long ago). We ended up starting in the center of the area and just kept going around in circles until we got the surface area we needed. It wasn't fun, it took a long time, and I wouldn't want to do another one. I feel your pain.

[@tomnugent845]

I would bet the level of the pond and the ditch are the same. The water table! Digging deeper only makes the pond bigger, not deeper. Good luck, sides will cave in.

[@bogusbits6810]

Your audio is MUCH improved!

[@tammygurganus9658]

GT500 is correct about the sand filling in, yo will never have a 15ft deep pond that will stay 15 ft deep down here, most times when we dig down here, (the most eastern part of NC right next to the ocean) it will fill in almost as quick as you can dig it out, we have to use well points with pumps to dig in water and sewer but we also use 4 or 6 inch pumps to pump out ponds and then you can dig everything down to the depth of the original pond with no problem. So Chris go get you a 6 in pump and in a few hours you will see a huge difference.

[@TheSoloAsylum]

I know you better keep that machine a little farther from the edge then you're used to. This looks like a typical day here in Florida. This is why draglines are still used down here.

[@edwardmyers3277]

I was wondering how long it would take to get "dragline" mentioned!

[@TheSoloAsylum]

@@edwardmyers3277 This video is the reason they exist.

[@benm3305]

A 6 inch pump would help keep the water down but unfortunately you will be digging under water through most of it.

[@malcolmmacpherson1307]

You won;t lower the pond level at all - you're dealing with a regional groundwater level

[@michelecolombo9831]

ahah sand is awsome for that.. when he said ''i hope i can dig faster than the water'' in my mind : ''NOOPE'' good job chris and awsome vids as always

[@Crewsy]

He never meant that he would lower it permanently. He did drop it 6” when he opened the cut but by the time he gets back to it the ground water level will have balanced out again.

[@rsp6549]

All of that fill would make an excellent rear berm for the shooting range he's planning.

[@chrisbartrum3201]

Ain't that little old canal feeding the pond too? I think the owner wanting it deep is optimistic.

[@shitloveaduck]

You got a doozy on your hands there! The more sand you pull out, the less stable the shoreline gets. Can’t have any steep water entry. That sand just keeps moving on ya. Looks coarse enough that it just doesn’t firm up entirely, ever! I’m sure you will figure something out. You haven’t gotten in over your head to date, you have the knowledge to make it work out in the end. Maybe just the middle 1/3 can be 12ft. Yikes! We have a finer sand here, but the lakes are always needing work because the sand just moves right in, again and again. They just shallow up over the years. I’m very interested in learning about this one Chris!! Thanks for sharing, as always! Gonna be a messy one!! Haha.

[@beachfun2901]

I had a similar occurrence. I was building a pond with a 655B track loader while trying to cut down layers and waste good white clay building roads. Then I started getting into a black muck layer and sinking when I tried to lift and back out with a bucket of dirt. Ended up having to get an excavator to finish the digging. Davidson County.

[@adamkolm6711]

Rent a 6" diesel pump at cat rentals should do the job.

[@oceannavagator]

The coastal plain of Carolina is the eroded rock of the Great Smoky mountains that millions of years ago was higher than the Rockies. All that sand is the basis of many commercial operations producing materials for construction and the glass making industry. You may be a thousand feet from bedrock where you're digging.

[@michaelsnell4034]

Reminds me of moving from PA to the Michigan lakeshore. Go from boulders and clay to mainly sand.

[@kevinhenry7273]

well points and a big pump to keep ground water level down.

[@juniorraines1042]

Enjoyed the video Chris thank you for sharing have a great weekend

[@anderleof]

Moving the pond water is not going to lower the water table.

[@rangerh]

I dig ponds all the time in that type of dirt. If you want to get the depth the same all over you need to use a pump to lower the water level in your dig pits because the sand flows so easy with the water level up. I do it like your doing just keep doing a section at a time then open it to the section I just did behind it and working my way down the length of the pond then moving over.

[@rangerh]

I have a bigger pump but most of the time just use a small mud pump from Harbor Freight in the dig pits to keep the water down and hook pvc pipe to the discharge and run it away from the pond. The small mud pumps can keep the water down faster than the ground water flows in the pits. Dig as deep a hole as you can to put the pump intake in . Can use pvc pipe on intake hose also to get down lower in the sand.

[@barrycooper6119]

Chris i help dig several ponds in south east nc we started digging to the depth that it called for and kept going to we finished the pond time we quit in the evening the water would be 5 to 6 feet deep when got to work the next morning the water was full it’s a pain to dig in that condition lots of luck 👍

[@Gen3tx]

Now you know my struggles of living in an area with an average 3 ft above sea level. Welcome to south jersey where you got the ocean 5 miles one way and the bay 5 miles the other direction lol

[@cathiwim]

Gen3tx my nephew lives there. Yep. Water, water everywhere, but when you need to dig a hole......

[@Expendible1971]

Look at the bright side, digging all this sand will make your bucket nice and clean and shiny (for at least a little while).

[@jaquigreenlees]

Probably would have been easier to start as far from the existing pond and work towards it. At least in getting the depth. A ground water pond is always going to flood the dig.

[@regsparkes6507]

You're right Chris, " this pond is indeed a challenge",..but I have faith!! LOL You'll do it.

[@janvandenbos7085]

You are so good with ponds i bet you are the expert with ponds you can do it Chris 🎅🌲🎅🎄👌👍⚠️

[@amtpdb1]

What do these people use these ponds for? Fishing, swimming, or what, just curious. Thanks. Seems strange how relaxing it is and I can sit for hours watching you did holes! Thanks for the videos

[@robfraley4210]

It’s the same as the Lime Rock Quarries in Miami are, Everywhere you dig it Fills up with water 💦 14:43 and becomes Lakefront Property...!! We dug it with the Big Draglines, made a big tall long pile, when it drained the CAT 🐱 988s or 998s would Load it out on Haul trucks and they would take it to the Crusher... 😎👍 Buckets made for Digging in the Water have Holes in them, let’s more of the water drain out on your way to dumping. Also there was a Pink grease we used on the Dump block of the bucket and the Propshafts on the Tugboats ✅

[@gregbickal5151]

Welcome to my world Chris. Thats exactly what its like for me digging at my property. You have to load out from virgin dirt or your stuck in quick sand. Ive got sand down to 14 feet in some spots before I hit glacial till.

[@goldinmyblood]

You need well points for digging deep. digging pools here in southwest florida with nothing but sugar sand is impossible to dig without a well point. very easy to setup and maintain, if you need some tips be glad to hep out.

[@north_driven_welder9876]

That dump truck is sounding alittle rough . Buts it’s a Volvo it’ll be fine .

[@dennissastini3312]

That’s the fun pond 10’ deep I like this customer shooting range ,deep pond , ready to take a flight when it’s done lol

[@kens.3729]

This Job looks like it’s going to take a Lot of Time and a Lot of Effort. 👍

[@lwilton]

Looks like you might be best off trying to dig to full depth from the shore as you make each cut. If not, you are probably going to be on boards or pontoons in 4 feet of water trying to dredge itr deeper from the middle.

[@tomlamparty9421]

After watching all thier ADs on your channel, EddyPump would be a big help on this job, seems like.

[@tommyhayworth887]

Dragline would be the ticket

[@johnredden641]

I know its more work but I think I would dig it out then let it dry then haul it off

[@bubba49r]

Have you guys ever use water points they work pretty good for pulling water out of sand. Like your channel. I’m a 28 years with the operators in MN

[@michaelruprecht2355]

Long reach? Yes

[@mischef18]

Sure making for a good video bro. Our town is sitting on river sand but any water soaks away quick when it rains.

[@jimriddle]

I believe 3 haul trucks would help.

[@dennissastini3312]

Gonna have a huge load of quicksand

[@timmyfrierson2684]

Chris the only other thing that you could do is pump the water out of the pond if you’ve got some where for it to go as your pumping it. I mean I know you know that i’m down here in Southeast Louisiana and We deal with running sand on a daily basis or either just slap ass mud and we have to dig bleeder ditches on just about anything we do but you’re right you sure have a mess there

[@timmyfrierson2684]

And then on top of all of that with all of that water splashing out of your loads it’s going to have your haul roads all messed up but if we laying sewer or water lines down here nine times out of 10 we have to Wellpoint because of the running sand. It’s just aggravating as hell so I know what you’re going through but you’ll figure it out

[@timmyfrierson2684]

Chris you could also dig you some bleeder ditches about 40 foot apart running the length of the pond and tie them all into one hole and keep a pump pumping 24 hours a day seven days a week and you will be surprise how much water that that will bring your water table down we have to do that a lot down here too in Louisiana but that’s just my suggestions I know you will figure it out

[@thepotterer3726]

I know there has been a lot of 'tongue-in-cheek' comments about draglines in the past, but this job seems to be ideally suited to one.

[@aland7236]

Never seen a prefilled pond before. It's kind of still a dredging job, the pond is really full of sediment.

[@clifforddgreen1296]

That's one of those type of jobs you could use two Haul trucks just to get a little farther ahead of the water Maybe

[@vallhallaswarriors9066]

I have done a bit of excavation I wish I lived near this guy I'd try talking to him about becoming a apprentice learning the proper operation of all this incredible equipment I hope one day to open my own company

[@picturepop]

Could you use the lake dredging technique to stack the sand today and haul it tomorrow? Sounds like that might be the best solution since the water level will not drop.

[@Fellgla]

Chris you need a Dredging Machine to pump out the sand 😆

[@williampowell8159]

In Florida they use multiple inground wells to remove ground water this is how they dig in Florida They have a large pump that pulls a vacuum on a 6 inch pipe that has multiple inch and a half wells what they called screen wells made out of PVC they will have multiple wells hooked to that 6 inch pipe to suck all the ground water out of the area that they are digging here I’m sure you can look it up on the Internet

[@robertrockwell7581]

silly question since i know nothing about this stuff. as small as the pond is right now why not just drain the whole thing until you are done.?. maybe save a headache.

[@letsdig18]

It would fill back up faster than I could pump

[@ko9446]

He is at the water table.

[@databoy2010]

@@letsdig18 not if you had a large enough pump...

[@jonschneck4559]

@@ko9446 wellpointing is when you jet screened pipes several feet below your desired dry depth every 5 feet around the perimeter of your excavation. a header pipe is run along the wellpoints and connected to a vacuum pump. pump runs continuously removing the groundwater from the soil and discharging it far enough away that it does not recirculate. I do underground fuel tank installations on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and maintained a flow of over 1000gpm

[@cs_fl5048]

hard to do a 10 foot deep pond in sand without a long "beach" on either side. the sand will constantly seek to level to the bottom.

[@bluemtnsman]

Looks like you have a viable method going on. What kind of slope on the banks are you going to be able to give this monster ? Lots of bank calving going on already. Thanks for another quality video Chris.

[@arneservatius8686]

We went thru many a swamp putting down well points as we dug force water and sewer all winter long. “ Those were the Days my Friend” I was also a pile driver not the crane the idiot on the wall over water. I’m 74 I survived. Michigan

[@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb]

Get a 6" pump and get the water out. Then a 2" to keep pulling ground water.

[@ghostfire319]

I know its a late comment, but could you have drained the pond by pump and then dropped some wellpoints in for extra dewatering?

[@imchris5000]

you could really use a dragline

[@uppsalahazzemarkstedt2759]

LOL! Just waited for this comment!

[@karlhrdylicka]

@chris. A dragline can do this type of work it's what they are built for, I have operated one (22 RB ) for a short time just before they were outdated and replaced by hydraulic machines, unfortunately it would take a lot longer as they are so slow against a 360 machine even if that includes moving the material twice . letsdig don't have one so you gotta do the best you can with what you have. Chris will figure a way to get the job done .

[@joedorweiler7733]

I was waiting for this comment as well

[@OnGotlandia]

I think a dragline would have been better! As the use to say....

[@malcolmmacpherson1307]

Yeah, agreed Wayne - comes down to how fast the pond will recharge. I'm a geologist, not an engineer, so pump capacities and recharge rates are a bit out of my league.

[@duanecarter8043]

Geoff done gone bumped his head. Lol. J/K. Chris said that once when it was suggested he use one when dredging that lake this past summer. Myself ,,I just enjoy watching the progress made in each video. I’m sure you would rather be doing something else all day rather than slinging sludge!! You got this!! ✌🏻🙏from Va. 🚜🚜🚜🚜🚜

[@callisto8232]

This will be an interesting one...good stuff!

[@christinakirby2518]

Chris my husband was on a job excavating at the Mercedes Benz plant here in Alabama . They hit a large pit of nothing but sand they were digging to 60 ft to try and get to solid bottom so it could pass but never found hard ground . Mercedes had to abandon the area after 2 months of digging they then had to haul in dirt and just made a picnic area for employees .

[@waynesteudler847]

Dredge?

[@davischappell4664]

Chris why don't you rent another haul truck it would help you get down faster

[@bogusbits6810]

I am not understanding why you have to dig the bottom of the pond below the water table? Unless the water table drops significantly, it would be wasted effort.

[@sterny4720]

I believe he's digging the pond to get the material necessary to facilitate the building of the berms all around the perimeter of the shooting ranges

[@jackspringer9283]

The customer wants 10-13' depth...

[@Todd.Roberts]

Look at the bright side . Most folks go towards the beach to play in the sand with a sand bucket a a small shovel . You got a big excavator and a haul truck to play I’m the sand with lol

[@machinemoverman4614]

I’m amazed how much you guys use that haul truck!

[@KPearce57]

Should have used a dragline.

[@michaelbass6176]

You need to set well points all around the pond than dig

[@mattfrench2063]

Need a another rock truck to keep head of the water

[@brainclerk4431]

cant wait to see you try dig a 12ft hole in that ! id say its impossible, but if anybody can, i do believe "you da man"

[@rharris5811]

You can't do anything with that dirt once it starts pumping. It has to be spread out and dried. Or if you are trying to get it to pack a shitload of lime.

[@ColumbiaWaterGardens]

Hell yeah. get er dug!

[@southernhomesteadtransformatio]

I had Deja vu watching this one...........right down to the splatters on the lower windshield........can't quite figure out why though ;-)

[@leecooper7374]

Ha dry out over the weekend. Y’all are going to have as much rain as we had in SC so it ain’t going to dry out over the weekend. Enjoy the videos. Long time subscriber.