Farm & Ranch Pond Construction in Lampasas, TX
- Stock Tanks, Ranch Ponds and Lake Excavation. Lampasas County and Central Texas.
Stock tanks on Lampasas County cattle country. Placed where the draw already collects water, with a spillway sized for what actually runs out here. This is dirt work, not landscaping.
Every pond gets built for what it actually has to do, whether that is watering cattle, holding through a dry summer, or giving you somewhere to fish. Free quote in 24 hours.
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Permits, Floodplain and Water Rights Around Lampasas
Most stock tanks in Lampasas County need no permit at all. A landowner can impound water for livestock and domestic use on their own place without a water right, and ranch tanks sit well inside that allowance. Once a dam gets tall enough or holds enough water, TCEQ dam safety rules apply, and we will tell you if your project is close.
Floodplain deserves attention here more than in a lot of counties. Sulphur Creek, the Lampasas River and the smaller drainages carry real water when a storm parks over this country, and there are mapped flood hazard areas along them. Building inside one means a county development permit. Beyond the paperwork, it is a good reason to think hard about spillway capacity.
Lampasas County is largely working agricultural land and there is not much municipal overlay to deal with outside the city. That keeps things simple compared to the counties closer to Austin.
Ag and wildlife valuation questions go to the Lampasas County Appraisal District. Ask them what they need documented before you spend money on the improvement.
Ponds on Lampasas County Ranches
Lampasas County is limestone underneath with a decent layer of soil in the bottoms and very little of it up on the hills. Where the soil is there, pond building is straightforward. Up on the flats and the ridges it thins out fast and you are into rock. That pattern is consistent enough around here that we can usually read a property from the lay of the land before we ever dig.
The creeks are the other Lampasas factor. Sulphur Creek runs through town and the Lampasas River picks up a lot of country north and east. When it rains hard out here it runs hard. A pond built in or near one of those drainages has to have a spillway sized for real water, not for an average shower. We have seen more dams around this county fail from an undersized spillway than from anything wrong with the dirt.
Most of the ponds we build in Lampasas County are working stock tanks on cattle country, quarter acre to an acre, placed where the natural drainage already collects. A pond that fills on its own from a draw is worth more than a bigger one somewhere the water does not go.
We are about an hour and fifteen from Lampasas out of Johnson City and we run 281 north regularly.
What We Build Around Lampasas
We dig ponds on ranches, hobby farms and acreage all over the Lampasas area. Quarter acre stock tanks up to multi acre lakes, plus expansions and cleanouts on ponds you already have.
Stock Tanks & Ranch Ponds
Ranch ponds and stock tanks from a quarter acre up, placed after we have dug test holes and found the clay.
Lake Excavation
Small lakes where there is enough ground draining in to keep one full. Basin, dam and spillway together.
Pond Cleanout & Rehab
Rehab on an existing tank. Silt out, banks back to a stable slope, dam repaired and spillway cut to grade.
What a Good Pond Does for a Place Out Here
On rural acreage a pond does work before it does anything decorative. It is stock water, it is fire water, it is wildlife habitat, and it is rainfall that stays on your side of the fence. It also happens to be the thing every buyer walks straight toward.
Key Benefits Include:
- Reliable stock water in a dry year
- Water on hand for fire
- Habitat for deer, dove and turkey
- Runoff kept where it fell
- Fishing and swimming close to home
- A real bump in resale value
How We Build a Pond That Holds
Four steps. The first one is the one most outfits skip.
Site Walk and Placement
We walk your place, see how the water runs, and find the spot with the best clay and the least rock. Placement decides whether a pond holds.
Design and Sizing
We set depth, size, dam height and spillway from how much ground drains in and what you want it for. Standard is 8 foot in the center.
Excavation and Dam
Excavators and dozers shape the hole and build the dam in packed lifts, tied into solid ground so it will not seep or slump on you.
Finishing
We grade the banks, cut the spillway, and leave the place clean and ready to seed when we pull the equipment off.
What a Pond Costs Around Lampasas
| 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 Lampasas Call Us
Placement Over Everything
The right spot on your property is worth more than any product we could put in the hole. We find it first.
Spillways Sized for Real Rain
Built for the storm that actually comes through here, not for an average shower on a chart.
Equipment That Fits
A big excavator on a small tank wastes your money. We bring what the job needs.
Straight Talk About Rock
If we find it, we tell you what it means for the schedule and the price before we keep going.
Quotes That Hold
What we quote after the site walk is what you pay unless the scope changes and you approve it.
On Time, On the Day
We keep the date. If weather moves it, you hear from us before it moves.
Locations We Serve
We dig ponds across Lampasas County and the surrounding country. If you are anywhere near Lampasas, we can get equipment to you.
What You Can Count On
Project Gallery
Recent pond jobs from around Central Texas.
Pond Construction in Lampasas, TX
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
Will a pond hold water in Lampasas County?
In the bottoms and draws where there is soil depth, usually yes. Up on the thin rocky ground, often not. Test holes tell us which one you have, and that hour of work up front is the difference between a pond and a hole.
How big does the spillway need to be?
Bigger than most people expect. We size it off the watershed feeding the pond, which around Lampasas can be a lot of country. An undersized spillway is the most common reason dams fail out here.
What does hammer work cost if we hit rock?
It is priced by the day. There is no honest way to quote hours on rock nobody has touched yet. We would rather find a spot on your place that does not need it, and we look for that first.
Do you build ponds for cattle operations?
Most of what we do in Lampasas County is exactly that. A stock tank in the right draw waters cattle without running a well pump all summer and keeps runoff on your place.
Can you clean out an existing tank?
Yes, and around Lampasas that is often the better deal. A lot of the old tanks here have silted in and are holding two or three feet where they used to hold eight. Pulling that out and reshaping is cheaper than starting over.
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.