PIERCE
LAND
CLEARING
San Antonio is two different pond jobs depending on which side of town the property sits on. North and west of Loop 1604 you are usually on Edwards limestone over the aquifer recharge zone. South and east of town you are in blackland clay that holds water almost on its own. We price and build for the ground you actually have, and we tell you which one you are on before we quote.
Most cities we work sit on one soil story. Bexar County sits on two, and the line between them runs roughly along the Balcones Escarpment through the middle of town. Which side you are on decides whether your pond holds water by itself or needs help.
Hill Country ground starts inside the city limits here. North of Loop 1604 and out toward Helotes, Grey Forest and Fair Oaks you are on Edwards and Glen Rose limestone with thin soil over it. Rock is usually shallow, sometimes a few inches down.
Fractured limestone does not hold water on its own. Water finds a seam and leaves. A pond on this ground is a lined pond, either with clay hauled in or with bentonite worked into the basin, and the quote has to say which.
This is also the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone. Regulated earthmoving over the recharge zone needs an approved Edwards Aquifer Protection Plan from the TCEQ before dirt moves. We check whether your tract is over the zone as part of quoting, and if it is we tell you before you make plans.
South and east of downtown, out through Elmendorf, China Grove, Adkins and toward the Wilson County line, the rock drops away and the clay gets deep. This is the good end of the county for ponds.
Blackland clay swells when it is wet and seals itself. A pond dug in it usually holds without any liner at all, which takes the single largest variable out of the price. The work becomes shaping and compaction rather than sealing.
The trade is that clay is heavy, it turns to grease when it is wet, and it will not compact properly if we try to work it too soon after rain. On this side of town the schedule moves with the weather more than the machine does.
Published, not hidden behind a form. Prices and build times are based on 6 feet of depth at center with a 4:1 bank.
| Pond Size | Starting Price at 6 ft depth, 4:1 bank | Build Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 acre | from $12,300 | 2 to 3 days |
| 1/2 acre | from $19,200 | 3 to 4 days |
| 3/4 acre | from $23,300 | 4 to 5 days |
| 1 acre | from $27,000 | 5 to 6 days |
| 1 1/4 acre | from $30,400 | 6 to 7 days |
| 1 1/2 acre | from $33,800 | 7 to 8 days |
| 1 3/4 acre | from $36,800 | 8 to 9 days |
| 2 acre | from $39,500 | 9 to 10 days |
Every price above assumes we can dig it. In north Bexar the number that moves a quote is rock, and whether the basin needs a liner. South and east of town the clay usually seals itself and the quote lands closer to the published number. We walk the site, tell you which side of that line you are on, and put it in writing before anyone commits.
Size it, tell us what to do with the dirt, then draw the pond right on a photo of your land. Your estimate comes back by email, along with a preview of the finished water.
Real ponds, real day counts, photographed on site.
Blackland pond work
Half acre pond on limestone ground
The finished product: water that staysFull process, statewide services, and the build standard: our Texas pond construction page.
The Edwards Aquifer recharge zone crosses the northern part of the county, and regulated earthmoving over it requires an approved Edwards Aquifer Protection Plan from the TCEQ before work starts. This is not a formality you sort out afterward. If your tract is over the zone we say so at the quote stage so the timeline includes it, and we point you at the TCEQ Edwards Aquifer Protection Program rather than guessing at your obligations for you.
On the north side the question is never whether there is rock, it is how deep and how hard. Soft weathered limestone comes out with an excavator bucket. Solid Edwards does not, and once a hammer or a rock saw is involved the day count changes. We would rather find that on a site walk than halfway through a dig, which is why we do not quote north Bexar ground off a map.
Blackland clay is the easiest ground in the county to hold water in and the worst to work wet. Compaction is what makes a dam hold, and clay that is too wet will not compact, it just moves. If we get a week of rain mid build we stop and wait rather than push through and hand you a dam that leaks in two years.
If you already have water and it is going somewhere, we can chase the leak, enlarge the pond, or rebuild the dam or the spillway. Those are all normal work for us. What we do not do is dredging, cleanouts or silt removal, so if the pond is full of sediment rather than losing water we will tell you to call somebody else rather than sell you the wrong job.
San Antonio rain does not arrive politely. It arrives in one afternoon. A pond sized right and spilled wrong is a dam failure waiting for the right storm, and the repair costs more than the spillway would have. We size the emergency spillway for the watershed feeding the pond, not for the pond itself, and on a tight lot that sometimes means the pond ends up smaller than the owner first pictured.
I truly appreciate the integrity of this company and very competitive pricing. Very timely, and communication and payment options were great! I highly recommend this company and we will use them again.
David Scoggins, Google review
They did a phenomenal job cleaning up my 80 acres in Bellville of tree damage from the straight wind storm. Steve surveyed the property and gave me a quote that week, and Dustin worked diligently for 9 days to complete the project. Throughout, I got frequent updates. Outstanding team, outstanding job.
Doug Abbott, Google review
One word: FANTASTIC!! Thank you Pierce Land Clearing and special thanks to Dustin. We are so pleased!!
Dawn Buscho, Google review
We build across Bexar County and the counties around it. If your place is outside the city limits, the nearest town page below is usually closer to your ground than this one.
It depends where you are. If the tract sits over the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, regulated earthmoving needs an approved Edwards Aquifer Protection Plan from the TCEQ before work starts. Off the recharge zone, a private pond on your own land is usually straightforward. We check which applies to you at the quote and point you to the TCEQ rather than guessing on your behalf.
Not on its own. Fractured Edwards limestone lets water find a seam and leave. It can absolutely be done, but it is a lined build, either with clay hauled in or bentonite worked into the basin, and the quote should say which and what it costs. Anyone who tells you limestone ground holds without a liner has not dug much of it.
A quarter acre pond starts at $12,300 and a full acre at $27,000, both at six feet of depth at center with a 4:1 bank. Those are real starting numbers, not teasers. What moves them here is rock on the north side and haul distance if spoil has to leave the property. Our minimum job is $8,000.
Sometimes, and the limit is usually the spillway rather than the pond. Water has to go somewhere when a storm fills it, and on a small lot there is often nowhere safe to put it. We would rather walk a site and tell you no than build something that pushes water at your neighbor.
The whole county and the ones around it. Most of our pond work sits outside the loop anyway, out toward Elmendorf, Adkins, Somerset, Von Ormy and Helotes, plus Wilson, Atascosa, Medina and Bandera counties next door.
Two to three days for a quarter acre, five to six for a full acre, nine to ten at two acres. Add time if the basin needs a liner or if rock has to be broken. Weather moves it more than anything else, because clay that is too wet will not compact and we will not pretend otherwise.
Tell us roughly where the property is and how big you want the water. We will tell you which side of the limestone line you are on, whether the recharge zone applies, and what that means for the number.