Because water depths of less than 2.5 - 3 feet promote the growth of aquatic weeds, the ends and edges of ponds may need to be deepened to reduce shallow areas. As with stump removal, costs for grading work vary tremendously of dry or wet conditions. A bulldozer can quickly grade a pond bottom under dry conditions. If the pond bottom cannot be dried, the contractor must resort to a dragline , a back hoe with mats or hauling in additional earth to mix with the pond bottom mud. In may cases, it is impossible or a waste of time to try to grade pond bottoms under wet conditions.
Care is needed in the renovation process.
Reworking farm ponds can lead to seepage problems in some cases. Deeper cuts during the reworking process could expose are of permeable soils. Ponds may have sealed over time through the accumulation of organic matter which may be disturbed or oxidized during renovations. Most farm ponds in Arkansas were constructed without drains. At least partial draining is required for harvesting fish from most farm ponds, since many have areas where the water is deeper than the maximum 4 to5 feet depth that can be harvested with a seine.