Farm & Ranch Pond Construction in Dripping Springs, TX
- Stock Tanks, Ranch Ponds and Lake Excavation. Hays County and Central Texas.
Ponds on Dripping Springs acreage. This is karst country, so every site gets test holed before we build anything meant to hold water. This is dirt work, not landscaping.
We build each one around what you need out of it. Stock water, a fishing hole, or something that just holds through August. Call and we will come look.
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Recharge Zone Rules and Permits in Hays County
Dripping Springs is one of the few places we work where the regulatory side deserves as much attention as the dirt. Most of this area sits on the Edwards Aquifer recharge or contributing zone, and earthwork over the recharge zone can fall under TCEQ Edwards Aquifer protection rules depending on how much you are disturbing and what you are doing. That is not a reason to skip a pond, but it is a reason to find out where you stand first.
The ordinary items apply too. A stock tank for livestock and domestic use on your own land does not need a water right, and typical ponds are well under TCEQ dam safety thresholds. Onion Creek and Barton Creek and their tributaries have mapped floodplain, and building in one means a county development permit.
Hays County also has a lot of platted acreage subdivisions with their own restrictions on earthwork and water features, plus the city of Dripping Springs and its ETJ with development rules of their own. Which of those apply comes down to your exact parcel.
Ag and wildlife valuation goes through the Hays Central Appraisal District.
Building a Pond Around Dripping Springs
Dripping Springs sits on the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, and that is not a detail you can ignore when you are digging a hole meant to hold water. This is karst country. Limestone with voids and fractures in it, some of them big enough to swallow a pond. A basin cut over one of those will drain no matter how much clay you pack into it.
That is why we test hole every site around here, and why we take that step more seriously in Hays County than almost anywhere else we work. What we are looking for is continuous soil with clay in it and no sign of fractured rock underneath. When we find that, a pond in Dripping Springs holds fine. When we find voids we move, and if there is nowhere on the property to move to we tell you rather than sell you a hole.
The country out 290 west of town and along the FM roads toward Henly and Johnson City is full of good acreage, a lot of it ten to a hundred acres with a house on it and a draw running through. Those draws are where the ponds go. Onion Creek and the Barton Creek headwaters drain a lot of this area and the natural low spots are usually obvious once you walk it.
Recharge zone rules can also affect what you are allowed to do depending on the site. We will raise it if it applies to your spot.
What We Build Around Dripping Springs
We dig ponds on ranches, hobby farms and acreage all over the Dripping Springs area. Quarter acre stock tanks up to multi acre lakes, plus expansions and cleanouts on ponds you already have.
Stock Tanks & Ranch Ponds
Quarter acre up to an acre, dug where the ground will hold it and deep enough to carry stock through August.
Lake Excavation
Multi acre water where the property and the watershed will support it. Dam, spillway and basin built as one job.
Pond Cleanout & Rehab
Old tank silted in or quit holding water? Usually cheaper to pull it out and reshape it than to start over.
What a Good Pond Does for a Place Out Here
A pond is the cheapest improvement you can make to a piece of rural land that actually pays you back. It carries livestock through August without a well pump running day and night. It pulls game to one spot. It holds your rainfall on your dirt. And it is worth real money the day you decide to sell.
Key Benefits Include:
- Livestock water without running the well
- Game and birds pulled to one place
- Rainfall held on your ground
- Somewhere to fish and swim
- Water available if fire comes through
- Higher price when the place sells
How We Build a Pond That Holds
Four steps, and none of them get skipped to save a day.
Test Holes
A machine goes in the ground in several spots before anything else happens. We are looking for soil depth and clay, and we are looking for rock.
Sizing It to the Watershed
How much country drains into the spot decides how big the pond can be and how big the spillway has to be. We measure instead of guessing.
Digging and Building the Dam
The dirt from the hole becomes the dam. It gets keyed into solid ground and placed in compacted lifts at the right moisture.
Shaping and Cleanup
Banks graded to a slope that will hold, spillway cut to grade, and the site left clean.
What a Pond Costs Around Dripping Springs
| Pond Size | Starting Price | Build Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 acre | from $14,000 | 2 to 3 days |
| 1/2 acre | from $23,000 | 3 to 4 days |
| 1 acre | from $33,500 | 5 to 6 days |
| 2 acre | from $50,000 | 9 to 11 days |
Every size in between, plus what rock, haul distance and access do to the number, is on our Texas pond cost page.
Pond Cost Calculator
Slide in the size, depth and bank slope you have in mind and see roughly how much dirt has to move and what that runs. Works for anything up to 2 acres.
See our full Texas pond cost guide for what drives the price and how the ground changes it.
3:1 is the steepest bank and moves the least dirt. 5:1 is a gentle wade-in bank, easier on cattle and safer around kids, but it takes more digging to get the same water.
- Average depth0 ft
- Water it holds0
- Rate per yard$0
This is an estimator, not a quote. It figures the dirt you would move for a bowl shaped pond at the size, depth and bank slope you picked. What you actually pay depends on whether we hit rock, what shape the ground is in, how far we have to haul spoil, and whether the spot needs clearing first. Rock is the big one. If we run into granite or solid limestone we have to bring a hammer out and that gets billed by the day. Call us and we will come walk it.
Why Folks Around Dripping Springs Call Us
Test Holes Before Talk
We put a machine in the ground and find out what is down there instead of guessing off the surface.
The Dam Is the Whole Job
Keyed into solid material and placed in lifts. Most ponds that fail did not fail because of the dirt.
Our Own Iron
Bulldozers and excavators we know the condition of, sized to what your job actually needs.
No Padding for the Unknown
We do not build a worst case number into every bid. If rock shows up, you pay for the days it takes.
A Number You Can Plan Around
Published starting prices, then a firm figure after we have stood on the spot with you.
Somebody Answers
You get a person on the phone and a date that holds. That is a lower bar than it should be in this trade.
Locations We Serve
We dig ponds across Hays County and the surrounding country. If you are anywhere near Dripping Springs, we can get equipment to you.
What You Can Count On
Project Gallery
Recent pond jobs from around Central Texas.
1/4-Acre Stock Tank - Bastrop, TX - 2 Days
1/5-Acre Pond Expansion - Elgin, TX - 1 Day
1/4-Acre Custom Pond - Burnet, TX - 4 Days
What Our Customers Say
★★★★★
“This is the second time using this company. And always quick responses and follow through! Their quality of work is the best in the industry. I’ve reached out to other companies before and usually slow to respond and set a date to come look at the property for a project and no show. That is something you won’t have to worry about by going with Texas Grading.”
Sean Chandler
★★★★★
“Worked with me to get my pond exactly how I wanted it. Taylor communicated well and was willing to cut me a fair deal when things weren’t exactly as expected. Jonathon is an ace with the dozer. The man can move some dirt like icing on a cake. Well done gentlemen!”
Dennis Pacl
★★★★★
“What a great experience. This company was prompt, and right on budget. They made a pond/tank for me on my ranch. The owner and his team were very professional.”
Glenn Gonzales
★★★★★
“These guys are the best! Hands down, if you need any land clearing or ponds done on your property, do yourself a favor and call Taylor!”
David Williams
Frequently Asked Questions
What is karst and why does it matter for my pond?
Karst is limestone that water has dissolved channels and voids into over a long time. A pond built over a void drains into it. You cannot see it from the surface, which is why we dig test holes before we build anything in Hays County.
Does the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone stop me from building a pond?
Not usually for a normal stock tank, but the rules around the recharge zone are real and depend on your specific site and what you are doing. We will tell you if we think it applies and point you to who to ask.
Can a pond around Dripping Springs hold without a liner?
Many do. It comes down to whether there is continuous clay under it. Where the test holes come back clean we build it and it holds. Where they come back into fractured rock, no amount of bentonite is a reliable fix and we will say so.
How much does a pond cost in Dripping Springs?
A quarter acre starts around $14,000 and an acre around $33,500. Rock and access are the two things that move it around here, and the test holes tell us both before we quote.
Do you work on properties with restrictive covenants or an HOA?
Yes, but check your covenants first. Some of the acreage subdivisions around Dripping Springs have rules about earthwork and water features. We would rather know before the trailer shows up.
More on Pond Building
- Stock Tank Construction What a working stock tank costs, how deep it needs to be and where to put it.
- Pond Dams and Repair Key trenches, compacted lifts and spillways sized for real runoff.
- Pond Cleanout and Dredging Getting the silt out of a tank that has filled in and quit holding depth.
- Pond Repair Why a pond leaks, and what it takes to fix one that will not hold.
- Lake Excavation Bigger water, and what the watershed has to support to keep one full.
- Pond Permits in Texas When you need one, when you do not, and who to ask.
- How Deep Should a Pond Be? Why eight foot in the center is the default and when to go deeper.
- Building in Rocky Ground Granite, limestone and caliche, and what each does to the price.