Farm & Ranch Pond Construction in Manor, TX
- Stock Tanks, Ranch Ponds and Lake Excavation. Travis County and Central Texas.
Stock tanks and ponds on the blackland east of Austin. Manor, Coupland and the acreage in between. Deep clay, no liner needed, built to hold. This is dirt work, not landscaping.
No two places drain the same, so no two ponds get built the same. We walk it, price it, and you know the number before we start.
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What You Need to Know Before You Dig Around Manor
The paperwork side of a Manor pond is usually simple. A stock tank on private acreage for livestock and domestic use does not normally need a state water right, and most of these tanks are nowhere near the size where TCEQ dam safety rules come into play.
The thing worth checking around Manor is floodplain. Wilbarger Creek and the smaller drainages through this part of Travis County have mapped flood hazard areas, and if your site falls inside one you need a development permit from the county before dirt moves. We look at that before we quote so it does not surprise anybody.
The other item is your neighbors, and specifically what your pond does to water leaving your place. On flat blackland, changing where runoff goes can back water onto someone else or cut a new channel across their pasture. We build with the outfall in mind and keep the water going where it already went.
If the pond is meant to support an ag or wildlife valuation, that is a Travis Central Appraisal District question. Ask them what practices they want documented before you spend the money, because the answer is not the same for every property.
Pond Building on Manor Blackland
Manor sits on some of the best pond ground in Central Texas and most people who live there do not realize it. This is blackland prairie. The clay runs deep, it seals itself, and a pond dug out here holds water without anybody hauling in bentonite or rolling out a liner. That is not true forty minutes west of here and it is worth knowing.
What we build most around Manor are stock tanks and small ponds on the acreage between town and Elgin, out along 290 and the roads north toward Coupland. A lot of that land is still in hay or grazing and a lot of it is being cut up as Austin pushes east. The dirt underneath is the same either way and it works.
The catch with blackland is that it moves. It swells when it is wet and shrinks and cracks when it is dry, and a dam built without accounting for that will show you exactly where the cracks were the first time the pond fills. We key the dam into solid material below the crack zone, build it in compacted lifts, and keep the clay at moisture while we place it. That is the whole trick out here.
The second thing about Manor is drainage. This is flat country and water does not run off blackland fast, it sits. Put a pond in the wrong low spot and you have a mud hole that never dries and never fills. Put it where the drainage actually collects and it fills on the first real rain.
What We Build Around Manor
We dig ponds on ranches, hobby farms and acreage all over the Manor area. Quarter acre stock tanks up to multi acre lakes, plus expansions and cleanouts on ponds you already have.
Stock Tanks & Ranch Ponds
Stock water that lasts a dry summer. Sized to your watershed and dug into the material that will actually seal.
Lake Excavation
Two acres and up where the drainage supports it. Built in lifts and keyed in like any dam that has to last.
Pond Cleanout & Rehab
Shallow, muddy or leaking. We clean it out, fix what the last outfit got wrong, and put the depth back.
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. Getting the first one right is most of the work.
Find the Spot
Not the prettiest spot, the one that will hold water. Soil depth, clay and where the runoff already goes.
Set the Numbers
Surface size, center depth, bank slope, dam height and spillway capacity, all worked from your watershed and what you want the pond for.
Move the Dirt
Cut the basin, build the dam in compacted lifts keyed into solid material, and shape the banks as we go.
Walk It With You
Before the trailer leaves we go over the finished job together and fix whatever needs fixing.
What a Pond Costs Around Manor
| 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 Manor Call Us
We Look Before We Bid
Soil depth, clay content, drainage and access. All four get checked on the walk through, not assumed.
Built to Hold Water
A key trench, compacted lifts and a properly cut spillway. That is what separates a pond from a hole.
Dozers and Excavators
That is what we run and that is what pond work takes. No rented surprises showing up on your place.
Hammer Work Priced by the Day
Nobody can honestly quote breaking rock they have not touched. We charge for the time it takes and no more.
Pricing You Can See
Starting prices are published on the site. The firm number comes after we have seen your ground.
We Finish and Clean Up
Banks graded, spillway cut, and the place left ready to seed when the equipment pulls off.
Locations We Serve
We dig ponds across Travis County and the surrounding country. If you are anywhere near Manor, we can get equipment to you.
What You Can Count On
Project Gallery
Recent pond jobs from around Central Texas.
Pond Construction in Manor, TX
Pond Construction in Manor, TX
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
Does a pond in Manor need a liner?
No, and we have never put one in out there. Manor is blackland clay and it seals on its own. When a pond fails around here it is almost never the soil, it is a dam that was not keyed in or not compacted.
How much does a stock tank cost in Manor?
A quarter acre starts around $14,000 and a half acre around $23,000 at eight foot center depth. Manor jobs tend to land near the starting number because there is no rock and access on that flat ground is usually easy.
What is the best time of year to dig in blackland?
Late summer and fall, when the clay has dried enough to work but not so much that it is like breaking concrete. Wet blackland is miserable to move and you tear up the pasture getting to the job.
Will my Manor pond stay full year round?
Depends on the watershed feeding it and how deep it is. Eight feet in the center is our default because that gets through a Central Texas summer. Shallower and evaporation pulls it down badly by August.
Can you build on a small acreage lot?
Yes. We build quarter acre stock tanks on five and ten acre places regularly. The limit is usually setbacks and where the water naturally wants to go, not total acreage.
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.