I have mowed dry ponds before(catch all the rain runoff) and they are always a mess. There will always be a wet spot that you will rut up or get stuck. Very hard on equipment, mud bogging and running the blades in standing water. I would charge more to cover spindle bearing damage along with hydro damage, and just the agrivation of getting stuck in a mosquito pit!

 

stay away from these things unless you have crap equipment that you plan on repacing anyway. The grass insn't just grass there is always debris mixed in from construction. You will almost always get stuck if it has rained within a copule weeks and as mentioned mosquitoes and bees hang out in them not to mention snakes.

But if you got some crappy equipment that you dont care about lets say a couple of crappy old WB that you use as back ups then use them and watch yourself.

Hope i helped.

 

I was actually thinking of doing the bottom of the ponds with a 4X4 tractor and mower. Think that would work better?

 

I like using the WB for the sides and the bottom. Do not put a rider in the bottom of a basin man you will regret it. I have sunk every kind of machine you can imagine in these things, heavy riders are not fun to get out & AND IMO they tend to tumble down alot easier We use the riders for the tops of the basins and WB for in them. I have never lost a rider in one of these ponds but i know plenty of guys who have; they do like your planning and drive them in the bottom then they get stuck or the flip as there going down.

Keep in mind that almost all the basins that ive done are Very steep and VEry tall sides. I mean if its a 10 foot side at a 20% grade then go for it but if you think its possible that the machine will flip then it eventually will.

 

I like using the WB for the sides and the bottom. Do not put a rider in the bottom of a basin man you will regret it. I have sunk every kind of machine you can imagine in these things, heavy riders are not fun to get out & AND IMO they tend to tumble down alot easier We use the riders for the tops of the basins and WB for in them. I have never lost a rider in one of these ponds but i know plenty of guys who have; they do like your planning and drive them in the bottom then they get stuck or the flip as there going down.

Keep in mind that almost all the basins that ive done are Very steep and VEry tall sides. I mean if its a 10 foot side at a 20% grade then go for it but if you think its possible that the machine will flip then it eventually will.

I mow one with a 595 4x4 JD - and it is no problem, however this one drains good, and I do not have to put up with soggy bottom areas. I only have to deal with the steep side hills, which is no problem with the 4x4.

 

I have multiple accounts that have retention ponds - mowing them isn't an issue.
Try an Allen Hover Mower - they work great and are easy to use.

 

I mow a couple. One I can use the Z, its normal grass and the soil has a lot of clay in it so its very hard around here..... ANother one I do I need to use a WB... It is very steep... I once lost the WB on the hill and it rolled into the heavy brush in the center of the detention pond.. Lucky I was able to Back it up and pull my way out of it..

 

How about using a quad runner ATV with a pull behind mower deck the high flotation tires shoudl help....all depends on how much you want to spend on the equipment....

 

The few that I have done were a royal pain. Just like above posts have stated, so easy to get hung up with just about anything you use. It does not take much of even a mucky film to get your turf tires slick and before you know it your hung up. Ones that go dry off and on are the worst.

It is so hard to figure into your price how many times you might get stuck and how much time you will lose each time.

Last year, I watched A local LCO have the time of his life every Thursday for several months. I seen it all, I felt so sorry for them. They used everything from a 4x4 batwing down to WB's. They even got a 4x4 chevy hung up twice getting the batwing out and it was all on flat ground higher than the pond. Other noticable thing was they were never stuck in the same spot, so it was not like they were not avoiding known trouble spots.

 

I did a place for a couple of seasons (trailer park) that had one, and all I kept thinking was that a long offset sicklebar cutter would be the way to go.

 

some spots are always wet but then there are those mystery spots that just appear out of no were. 4x4 mowers are great but with steep hills that just means more weight and a higher center of balance. Its your operation and this is just my opinon. But i do speek from expirance.

 

Really none of the ponds sides are that steep. I was really just worried about mowin the bottoms. Most of them look fairly dry so I guess I'll just try to bid them the best I can. What would you guys bid a 1 acre pond that looked pretty dry with sides that were not that steep, mowin every 2 weeks?

 

about 120$ per cut min

 

I have a ? I have been asked to put a bid in to fix the drainage issues of these dry ponds. Basically they have been left alone for a couple of years and now they need mowing well stuff is 6-8 ft high and when it is cut it will need to be hauled away. Any ideas, Im open to anything.

 

I have multiple accounts that have retention ponds - mowing them isn't an issue.
Try an Allen Hover Mower - they work great and are easy to use.

Ive got an Allen Hover mower and "try" to mow a retaining pond with it. The "blade" breaks off after a few passes. Tough grass. I have tried many things, but the sides are just too steep. if I use a trimmer, I can't keep footing on it. The whole thing is surrounded by a fence and a small gate at the BOTTOM. I have to lift whatever I use over the fence and home I don't slip.
IVe tried tying myself to the fence with climbing rope and caribeners, but it does no good. I lose my footing and then the rope grabs.LOL. I just bought a long hedge clipper. Im going to try those this year. Thank god I only have to mow it once a month.

 

Crafty,

6-8 feet high you will be stuck doing it by hand. I had a few ponds iN FLA that I agreed to cut as part of the contract. I rented two trimmers with the brush blades and a small (4") chipper. I would have spend more in time and fees haulingthes stuff awau, and I only ended up with a 2 yards of chipped debris with i was able to loose back into the retention pond area.....

Once I got it cut, and the thick stuff down close to grade. I would maintain 90% of the ponds with a ztr withthe blade all the way up., unless it had rescently rained.

By keeping it cut It did dry out better after rains which resuled in a better looking property and long term easier to maintain.

Good Luck...

 

the one I take care of is probably about an acre and is ususally dry unless we have a couple days of heavy rain, half and the bottom I can get w/ my wb w/ deck at the highest and the other side I use a weed eater, me and another person 2 hrs. tops, I cut it every 3 weeks @ $200.00 a cut
would'nt mind havin a couple more of these

 

Ive got an Allen Hover mower and "try" to mow a retaining pond with it. The "blade" breaks off after a few passes.
There is a conversion kit from several turf catalogs and from the US distributor of Allen Hover mowers located in FL wherein the grass safety blade can be changed out with a fixed unit.
I too had issues similar to yours at first yet Seagro really stepped up and helped me correct them. I can not imagine trimming these retaining ponds and ditched without this machine.

 

I was actually thinking of doing the bottom of the ponds with a 4X4 tractor and mower. Think that would work better?

I had the opportunity to do a retention pond one year, and my 4x4 595 JD handled it very well - No different than mowing open areas - Nice thing is there are not many trees to mow around. LOL

 

I have a ? I have been asked to put a bid in to fix the drainage issues of these dry ponds. Basically they have been left alone for a couple of years and now they need mowing well stuff is 6-8 ft high and when it is cut it will need to be hauled away. Any ideas, Im open to anything.

bring out a brush blade equipped line trimmer.
One trimmer and one guy for each 1/4 acre, per hour with the thin stuff.
quadruple that time if you need to cut out sapplings and such with the chainsaw.

What I do for stuff like that is cut it off with the brush blade and let it sit for a week to dry out, then come back with my beat up WB and mow it all up. I change the blades after about an hour or when stuff really starts clumping.

Now we are talking weeds and reeds not bushes and trees.

Another choice would be to sub out the first time to someone with a bush hog, then maintain it yourself after that.

 

I know there is a difference between a retention pond and a detention pond, but is it not the job of a storm water pond to slow and filter run off water? If this is why the pond is there, why mow it at all? It should be sprayed for unwanted weeds and then burned off every 3 to 5 years. But other than that and removing the trash from it I think it should be left alone. PR

 

I know there is a difference between a retention pond and a detention pond, but is it not the job of a storm water pond to slow and filter run off water? If this is why the pond is there, why mow it at all? It should be sprayed for unwanted weeds and then burned off every 3 to 5 years. But other than that and removing the trash from it I think it should be left alone. PR

Most municipalities require that it be mowed on some type of schedule. Here in this town, They require it be mowed every 3 months minimum. they tend to become eyesores when the grass and weeds grow to the point they collapse under their own weight.

 

How interesting the replys are.... We own Cross Way Land Management and we specialize in detention ponds... First off you don't need junky equipment as was said earlier in the post.. There is not a one size fits all piece of equipment and it is impossible to clear a pond without hand work...so here it goes..
To clear a detention pond with major growth needs to start at 4500 and can run up to 15k with an average of 7500. The initial clearing needs to have the material cut and hauled of in roll off dumpsters. After the initial cut you need to put the HOA, or whoever you are cutting it for on a quarterly maintenance cut and that needs to be a minimum of 500 up to 700 depending on the size of the pond. If they don't want to pay to cost to do it right, with the understanding that the risk is all on your company, then move on from the job..!
As far as equipment... when the basin is dry you can use a tractor with a bush hog or lane shark or even a stand on with duel wheels or an extremely wide stance (will be perfect for holding the slopes. You will also need string trimmers with handlebars and a solid shaft brush cutter with handlebars (stihl), a pair of hedge trimmers and a light weight chain saw... hope this helps and with these items and this pricing you will do well... take care and God bless

 

Not sure if you missed the title or the name has changed in the last 19 years, but this thread is talking about detention ponds, while you’re entire post is about retention ponds…

 

Oh, and you shouldn't mow a pond. The mower will get wet. And probably sink.

Don't even get me started on using skidsteers on a pond!