The changing role of fishing & recreation lakes.
More and more rural property owners today are wanting fishing ponds or recreation lakes added to their property. Ranch and farm lakes also provide a ready reservoir of valuable water in these uncertain times. Fishing pond construction is more complicated than the building of a simple stock tank or farm pond. Your local bulldozer operator might get a farm pond or lake right the first time. Might is a big gamble. If he doesn’t get it right, if the farm pond will not hold water, if the banks are too steep, if the lake dam leaks, if the pond does not fill up correctly; you are left with an eyesore which must be drained and reconstructed.
Catastrophically, the dam or spillway may be improperly constructed – Nick sees it all the time when visiting existing lake building projects. Texas has its’ share of major rain events and all lake construction projects must take that into account. You do not want to see your lake washed out into a sea of mud in your pasture after a torrential rain event. We have seen impressive concrete spillways reinforced with rebar turned into a tangled mess of concrete chunks, twisted steel and mud by a tropical storm. As an aside, Nick advised this client that building a lake in this particular location was not prudent.
More and more rural property owners today are wanting fishing ponds or recreation lakes added to their property. Ranch and farm lakes also provide a ready reservoir of valuable water in these uncertain times. Fishing pond construction is more complicated than the building of a simple stock tank or farm pond. Your local bulldozer operator might get a farm pond or lake right the first time. Might is a big gamble. If he doesn’t get it right, if the farm pond will not hold water, if the banks are too steep, if the lake dam leaks, if the pond does not fill up correctly; you are left with an eyesore which must be drained and reconstructed.
Catastrophically, the dam or spillway may be improperly constructed – Nick sees it all the time when visiting existing lake building projects. Texas has its’ share of major rain events and all lake construction projects must take that into account. You do not want to see your lake washed out into a sea of mud in your pasture after a torrential rain event. We have seen impressive concrete spillways reinforced with rebar turned into a tangled mess of concrete chunks, twisted steel and mud by a tropical storm. As an aside, Nick advised this client that building a lake in this particular location was not prudent.
The proposition of re-doing an improperly constructed farm pond of fishing lake is always more expensive than the initial pond building.
Experience and knowledge count in this business and as the older and more experienced craftsmen retire, it becomes harder and harder to find someone who knows what they are doing. When it comes to lake building and how the intricate infrastructure of a premium rural lake retreat all fits together, there is no substitute for experience and a proven track record.
It takes a rare combination of experience, knowledge and proper equipment to complete a lake construction job at the highest possible levels. Most contractors never attain that level. SoilMovers, LLC routinely exceeds our client’s expectations.
Nick Jones, of SoilMovers, LLC has over 40 years of experience in all types of excavation. This includes ranch improvements, wildlife habitat and specialization in the design and construction of farm ponds, trophy fishing lakes, rural lake retreats and complete infrastructure improvements. They have completed many successful farm pond, fishing lake projects, plastic lake liner installations and country lake retreats in Texas and Oklahoma for over a decade.
Construction of the more complicated fishing pond, fishing lake or plastic lake liner project is definitely not something you want an inexperienced local contractor to tackle. Building a proper fishing lake requires engineering, experience and the proper equipment to attain the level of a trophy fishing lake or a unique recreation lake. The excavation contractor you hire to construct the fishing lake or farm pond of your dreams has to be an expert with a proven and verifiable lake construction history.
Experience and knowledge count in this business and as the older and more experienced craftsmen retire, it becomes harder and harder to find someone who knows what they are doing. When it comes to lake building and how the intricate infrastructure of a premium rural lake retreat all fits together, there is no substitute for experience and a proven track record.
It takes a rare combination of experience, knowledge and proper equipment to complete a lake construction job at the highest possible levels. Most contractors never attain that level. SoilMovers, LLC routinely exceeds our client’s expectations.
Nick Jones, of SoilMovers, LLC has over 40 years of experience in all types of excavation. This includes ranch improvements, wildlife habitat and specialization in the design and construction of farm ponds, trophy fishing lakes, rural lake retreats and complete infrastructure improvements. They have completed many successful farm pond, fishing lake projects, plastic lake liner installations and country lake retreats in Texas and Oklahoma for over a decade.
Construction of the more complicated fishing pond, fishing lake or plastic lake liner project is definitely not something you want an inexperienced local contractor to tackle. Building a proper fishing lake requires engineering, experience and the proper equipment to attain the level of a trophy fishing lake or a unique recreation lake. The excavation contractor you hire to construct the fishing lake or farm pond of your dreams has to be an expert with a proven and verifiable lake construction history.
Conservative estimates place the real number of farm ponds and ranch lakes in Texas at over 800,000. These farm ponds range in size from less than one acre to over 60 acres in size and 25% of all fishing in Texas takes place in private farm ponds and fishing lakes. Unfortunately, many of these ponds are so poorly constructed that they fail to serve the purpose for which they were originally designed and some may even be unsafe and a catastrophe in the making.
Until recently, little concern was shown for construction safety in building farm pond dams. Now, many states are routinely checking pond dams and condemning those which are unsafe. Condemned farm ponds must be drained and repaired or destroyed. Therefore, it is important to properly construct new ponds or lakes in order to prevent expensive condemnation or structural failure of the dam. Much of Texas is subject to torrential rains when a Hurricane or Tropical Storm sweeps in from the Gulf or maybe Mother Nature will just be unpredictable like she was in May of 2015 when 75% of Texas experienced the wettest May on record.
Farm ponds are built for many purposes. Those designed for livestock watering, irrigation, and fire protection must be built near the use they serve and also contain adequate water. Farm ponds or fishing lakes used for flood and erosion control frequently are located in dry valleys or depressions and have the capability for the storage of large quantities of water, especially during heavy rainfall and spring floods.
Farm ponds constructed for fish and wildlife production or recreation are designed and constructed for (1) easy access, (2) adequate volume and, (3) water level manipulation. Farm ponds can be designed and built to serve multiple purposes with advanced planning. You just have to choose the contractor that is right for your job. Building anything more than a basic stock tank requires an excavation contractor with a depth of experience with a multitude of different projects, a stable of expensive, dependable equipment to do the job right and the innate ability to visualize the final product which fulfills your dream.
We have a long, successful track record satisfying the needs of our clients. Take a look at some of our past projects to see the extensive experience we have working in the many unique areas of Texas.
Until recently, little concern was shown for construction safety in building farm pond dams. Now, many states are routinely checking pond dams and condemning those which are unsafe. Condemned farm ponds must be drained and repaired or destroyed. Therefore, it is important to properly construct new ponds or lakes in order to prevent expensive condemnation or structural failure of the dam. Much of Texas is subject to torrential rains when a Hurricane or Tropical Storm sweeps in from the Gulf or maybe Mother Nature will just be unpredictable like she was in May of 2015 when 75% of Texas experienced the wettest May on record.
Farm ponds are built for many purposes. Those designed for livestock watering, irrigation, and fire protection must be built near the use they serve and also contain adequate water. Farm ponds or fishing lakes used for flood and erosion control frequently are located in dry valleys or depressions and have the capability for the storage of large quantities of water, especially during heavy rainfall and spring floods.
Farm ponds constructed for fish and wildlife production or recreation are designed and constructed for (1) easy access, (2) adequate volume and, (3) water level manipulation. Farm ponds can be designed and built to serve multiple purposes with advanced planning. You just have to choose the contractor that is right for your job. Building anything more than a basic stock tank requires an excavation contractor with a depth of experience with a multitude of different projects, a stable of expensive, dependable equipment to do the job right and the innate ability to visualize the final product which fulfills your dream.
We have a long, successful track record satisfying the needs of our clients. Take a look at some of our past projects to see the extensive experience we have working in the many unique areas of Texas.