Frequently asked questions

In most cases, yes. The honest answer starts with the site. We look at soils, the watershed feeding the site, and where a dam wants to sit before we tell you what your property can support. If the ground won't hold water on its own, we'll say so and design around it (see liners below). The first step is an on-site assessment, not a sales pitch.

An open and honest discussion with our team to get to know your vision is most typically the first step. Next, an evaluation of the watershed allows us to suggest shape and size. That, along with an understanding of soil consistencies, allows us to build a scope and budget to share.

It depends on the site, the size of the dam, permitting, and weather windows for moving dirt. After the on-site assessment we give you a stage-by-stage schedule: design, any permitting, clearing, dam and basin work, lining if needed, and first water. We'd rather give you a real schedule for your site than a generic number.

Sometimes. It depends on the size of the impoundment, where the water comes from, and whether a stream or regulated waterway is involved. We identify what applies to your site during design and handle the permitting process where it's required.

Understanding the watershed and any supplemental water sources allows us to determine the appropriate size of your lake, as well as the required dam and spillway design. A thorough soil evaluation helps determine the composition of the lake bottom and the best approach to creating a reliable, watertight basin. Together, these key factors define the project scope and provide the foundation for an accurate project budget.

That's a soils question, and we answer it before construction, not after. Where the site needs help, we recommend the liner material honestly and install it as part of the build. We also diagnose and remediate leaks on existing ponds.

Yes. Renovation covers silted-in basins, leaking dams, overgrown banks, and lost access, for the water and for the land around it. We can keep maintaining the property after it's restored.

Yes. Ranch and farm landscape design, selective clearing, grading, roads, pads, drainage, and sightlines. We build the whole rural retreat, not just the lake at the middle of it. We serve Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

All of our lakes are designed with legacy management in mind. Our lakes are handed over to our sister company Lochow Ranch for setting goals and visions. Stocking is sequenced properly, water chemistry gets baselined, and ongoing management keeps the investment performing.

That's the point of building it right. Our Texas A&M-trained fisheries team surveys by electrofishing, writes a data-driven stocking and harvest plan, and paces the fishery over real growing seasons. Built, stocked, and managed by one team.