Recent Work
Pond & Excavation Gallery
Real excavator work from across central Illinois.
Excavator-based pond cleaning and cleanouts — silt and muck removal, fallen-tree and debris cleanout, dam and outlet repair, and ongoing pond maintenance. We draw it down and dig it out. Mattoon, IL — 60-mile radius.
📞 Call (217) 809-0779 Free EstimateA pond cleanout is how you get lost depth back. We drain or draw the pond down, let the bottom firm up, and machine the accumulated muck and sediment off the basin floor with an excavator — then fix the dam, spillway, and outlet while the water's still down and reshape the banks before it refills. We work the basin dry on purpose: it's the only way to see what you're digging and get a clean bottom. Most central-Illinois ponds need it every ten to twenty years. Free on-site estimate: (217) 809-0779.
A pond that's silted in, choked with muck, or full of fallen trees loses its depth, its water, and its use. Pond cleaning brings it back — we pull the sediment out and restore the basin so it holds water again, and handle the ongoing pond maintenance that keeps it that way.
Here's how a Brohez Trucking LLC cleanout actually works. We draw the pond down or drain it, let the bottom firm up, then reach in with an excavator and pull the silt and muck off the basin floor to restore depth, hauling or stockpiling the spoil as we go. We do this work dry, on purpose. A drained basin is the only way to see what you're digging, get a clean bottom instead of a guess, keep from undercutting the dam, and fix the outlet and spillway in the same trip. Machine cleanout on a dry basin is how a pond gets its real depth back.
Beyond the muck, while the pond is down is the right time to fix everything else — fallen trees and organic debris come out, a leaking dam gets repaired, a failing spillway or outlet gets reworked, and the shoreline gets reshaped. One contractor, one machine, all of it handled before the water comes back. Restoring a bigger water body on the same footprint? We also handle new builds at lake scale — see lake construction.
We bring our own iron, so there's no waiting on a rental yard or a second outfit. A Komatsu excavator does the reaching and pulls the muck off the basin floor. A Cat D6N dozer shapes the dam, the banks, and the spoil placement. Our trucks move whatever has to leave the property. One owner-operated crew on your pond, start to finish.
Where the spoil goes gets settled before we start. Pond muck comes out wet and high in organics — it isn't structural fill and it won't stack like clay. Most of the time the best answer is spreading and drying it on site, well back from the water where it can't wash straight back into the basin, then seeding it down. If there's no room for it or you'd rather it were gone, we haul it off. Either way you'll know the plan at the estimate, not halfway through the job.
The fundamentals matter the same as any earthwork. Get the pond drawn down enough to work. Let the bottom firm up. Pull the sediment back to a clean base without undercutting the dam. Set the spoil where it won't wash back in. Done right once beats fighting a silted pond every few years.
Whether it's a silted farm pond or a debris-choked rec pond, the steps are the same.
We come look at the pond, check the depth lost, the muck volume, the dam and outlet, and the access. Free estimate.
The pond gets drained or drawn down through the outlet or a siphon so the excavator can reach the bottom. We let it firm up before we dig.
Fallen trees, brush, and organic debris come out first so the muck removal has clean access across the basin.
The excavator works the silt and muck off the bottom back to a clean base, restoring the depth the pond was built to hold.
While the water's down, we fix a leaking dam, rework the spillway or outlet, and re-key anything that's let go.
We reshape the shoreline, set the spoil where it won't wash back, seed bare slopes, and let the pond fill back to grade.
From a silted-in farm pond to a debris-choked rec pond.
Years of sediment build up and rob a pond of depth. We draw it down and pull the muck back to a clean base so it holds water again.
A pond that's gone shallow grows weeds and winterkills fish. We dig the basin back to the depth it was built to hold.
Downed trees, brush, and organic debris pulled out of the basin and shoreline so the pond is clean and usable again.
Leaking or slumping dams re-keyed and rebuilt with compacted clay while the water's drawn down — the right time to fix it.
Failing spillways, clogged outlets, and worn inlet pipes reworked so water comes in and leaves the way it should.
Eroded, caved, or overgrown banks re-cut and reshaped to a clean, stable edge that holds against wave action.
The muck and sediment pulled from the pond hauled off or spread on site — your call, sorted out before we start.
We help figure out how to lower the pond — outlet, siphon, or pump — so the basin is workable before the excavator goes in.
Real excavator work from across central Illinois.
We do it dry. The pond gets drained or drawn down, the bottom firms up, then an excavator pulls the silt and muck back to a clean base to restore depth. Working a dry basin is the only way to see what you're digging, get a clean bottom, and fix the dam and outlet in the same trip.
Depends on how much muck comes out, how deep it is, where the spoil goes, and access — the same size, soil, dam, and access factors that drive the cost to build a pond. Free estimate — call (217) 809-0779.
For excavator work, yes — it needs to be drawn down or drained so the machine can reach the bottom. We'll help figure out how to lower it and let the bottom firm up before we dig.
Yes. While the pond is down is the right time to repair a leaking dam, rework a failing spillway or outlet, and pull out fallen trees and organic debris.
Once the pond is drawn down, a typical cleanout runs a few days to a week or so depending on muck volume, debris, and any dam work — we'll give you a real timeline at the estimate.
Most central-Illinois ponds need a cleanout every ten to twenty years, but it depends on how much runoff and sediment feed in. A pond in row-crop ground with a big watershed silts in faster than one on grass. The tell is depth: when the shallow end keeps creeping out, weeds take over the edges, or fish start to winterkill, it's time to pull the muck. A pond with a grassed buffer and a stable spillway goes much longer between cleanings.
Yes. Beyond a full cleanout, we handle the pond maintenance that keeps a pond healthy — pulling built-up silt before it robs real depth, clearing fallen trees and debris, re-cutting eroded banks, and keeping the dam and spillway sound. Catching it early with regular maintenance is far less work than letting a pond silt all the way in. Call (217) 809-0779 to set up a look.
60-mile radius from Mattoon, IL — Decatur, Champaign, Effingham, Charleston, Urbana, Sullivan, Tuscola, Shelbyville, Pana, and Terre Haute.
Brohez Trucking LLC delivers pond cleanout and restoration across a 60-mile radius from Mattoon, IL — into Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, Shelby, Moultrie, Effingham, Edgar, Clark, Champaign, and Macon counties, plus over the line into Vigo County, Indiana. Pick your town below for local details, or call (217) 809-0779 for a free estimate anywhere in the radius.
Call us and we'll come look. No pressure, no obligation — just a straight number.
(217) 809-0779 📞 Call For Free Estimate Send A MessageHours: Open daily, 7am–7pm · Mattoon, IL · 60-mile service radius