Farm & Ranch Pond Construction in Johnson City, TX
- Stock Tanks, Ranch Ponds and Lake Excavation. Blanco County and Central Texas.
Ponds, stock tanks and lakes across Blanco County. Our yard is in Johnson City, so we are on your place quick and the equipment move stays cheap. This is dirt work, not landscaping.
What the pond is for changes how we build it. Tell us that first and the rest of the decisions get easy. Quote back to you inside a day.
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Permits and Rules in Blanco County
Blanco County is home ground for us and the rules here are about as simple as they get in Central Texas. A stock tank on your own acreage for livestock and domestic use does not need a water right, and ranch sized ponds are far below the point where TCEQ dam safety regulation applies.
The Pedernales is the thing to watch. It has mapped flood hazard areas along it and its tributaries, and building inside one means a development permit through the county. If your place fronts the river or a major draw off it, we look at that before picking a location.
Blanco County sits in the Colorado basin, so LCRA can have an interest in projects close to the river. For most of the ponds we build, up in the pastures and draws away from the Pedernales, that never comes up.
Ag and wildlife valuation is the Blanco County Appraisal District. They are reasonable to deal with and worth calling before you build if the pond is part of your management plan.
Ponds in Blanco County, Where We Are Based
Johnson City is home. Our yard is here, which means we are on your place quick, equipment moves are cheap, and we have probably already worked ground within a few miles of you. Blanco County is the country we know best.
The dirt here is Hill Country dirt. Limestone underneath, thin soil on the slopes, better material down in the draws and along the Pedernales bottoms. Depth to rock is the whole conversation. We can usually stand on a spot and tell you within a foot or two what we are going to find, and then we dig test holes to make sure.
What surprises people is how many good pond sites there are around here. The assumption is that Hill Country means leaky and rocky and not worth trying. We have built a lot of ponds in Blanco County that hold water fine with no liner in them. The difference is placement. Find where the soil collected, build there, and it works. Pick a spot for the view and it usually does not.
Most of our Blanco County work is on ranches and hunting places off 290 and 281 and the FM roads in between. Quarter acre stock tanks up to multi acre lakes. Being local means we can come back and look at something without it costing you a mobilization.
What We Build Around Johnson City
We dig ponds on ranches, hobby farms and acreage all over the Johnson City area. Quarter acre stock tanks up to multi acre lakes, plus expansions and cleanouts on ponds you already have.
Stock Tanks & Ranch Ponds
The working tank. Eight foot center depth, banks graded to hold their shape, placed where the runoff already goes.
Lake Excavation
Bigger water for property that can feed it. We size the dam and the spillway to the country draining in.
Pond Cleanout & Rehab
Twenty years of silt pulled out, banks reshaped and the dam checked. The site has already proved it holds water.
What a Good Pond Does for a Place Out Here
Out on acreage a pond earns its keep before it ever looks pretty. It waters stock without running the well pump. It keeps runoff on your place instead of sending it down the road. It gives deer and turkey somewhere to drink in August. And it is the first thing a buyer notices when the place goes on the market.
Key Benefits Include:
- Stock water that lasts through a dry summer
- Runoff kept on your place instead of running off
- Backs up an ag or wildlife valuation
- Fishing and swimming
- Water on hand if a fire starts
- Adds real value to rural acreage
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 Johnson City
| 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 Johnson City Call Us
We Read the Ground First
Where the clay is, where the rock is, and where the water runs. You hear it straight before you spend a dime.
Dams Built to Stay
Packed lifts tied into solid ground, with a spillway sized to handle a real Hill Country gully washer.
The Right Machine for the Job
Dozers, excavators and a motor grader, matched to the site and the size of the job.
Rock Priced Honest
If your place needs hammer work you hear it in the bid, priced by the day. No surprise change orders.
You Know the Price Up Front
Starting prices posted by pond size, and a firm number once we have walked the property with you.
We Show Up
Quick to answer the phone, and we keep the date we set. Ask around about outfits that never showed up to look at the job.
Locations We Serve
We dig ponds across Blanco County and the surrounding country. If you are anywhere near Johnson City, 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
You are based in Johnson City. Does that make it cheaper?
It makes the equipment move cheaper, yes. Mobilization is a real line item on a dirt job and hauling a dozer twenty minutes costs less than hauling it two hours. It also means we can swing by and look at something without making a production out of it.
Do Hill Country ponds hold water?
Plenty of them do. We have built a lot of them around Blanco County with no liner. The trick is placement, finding the spot on your property where the soil is deep enough and there is clay in it. Where a property genuinely has no such spot we will tell you.
How deep do you dig them?
Eight feet in the center is the default. That is deep enough to get through a Central Texas summer without the pond going shallow and green. Deeper is possible and costs more.
What about the Pedernales floodplain?
If your spot is in a mapped floodplain that changes what is allowed and how it has to be built. We will look at it before we start and tell you straight if it is a problem.
Can you do the pond and clear the land around it?
Yes. Texas Grading is the dirt work division of Pierce Land Clearing, so clearing and pond work can be handled on the same job with the same crew.
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.