Recent Work
Pond, Dam & Earthwork
Real iron on real central-Illinois pond and dam work.
Leaking dam repair, spillway repair, and seepage re-sealing with native clay — plus erosion and bank repair. If your pond is losing water or the dam's letting go, we find the problem and fix it right. Mattoon, Charleston & the 60-mile radius.
📞 Call (217) 809-0779 Free EstimateA pond that leaks, a dam that seeps, or a spillway that's washing out won't fix itself — and the longer it goes, the more it costs and the more dangerous the dam gets. Brohez Trucking LLC finds where your pond is actually failing and repairs it the same way a good pond is built: with compacted native clay, keyed in and made to hold.
Most pond problems come down to water going somewhere it shouldn't. A leaking pond is usually losing water through the earthen dam or a spot in the basin the clay never sealed — not straight down. A failing dam shows up as a wet spot or a boil on the downstream face, slumping, or a soft toe. A washed-out spillway gullies deeper every storm until it threatens the whole embankment. And in central Illinois, muskrats and other burrowing animals tunnel through dams and open leak paths that only get worse. We diagnose it, draw the pond down, and rebuild the failed section in clay — re-keyed, re-sealed, and compacted so the fix outlasts the problem.
The difference here is the same as on our new builds: you get an owner who's actually on the job, real iron — a Komatsu excavator and a Cat D6N dozer — and a straight, itemized price. Brohez repairs clay-lined and earthen embankment ponds and dams — farm ponds, fishing and rec ponds, livestock and irrigation ponds, and small lakes. That's the kind of pond we build, sealed with native clay and fed by its watershed, so we know exactly how to put one back together when it lets go. We move the earth for you — and we leave the dirt locked in so the next big rain doesn't undo the work.
From a dam that seeps to a spillway that's washing out — the full range of pond repair under one local outfit.
A seeping or slumping earthen dam excavated back to solid ground and rebuilt in compacted clay lifts, keyed into a clean core trench so the seepage path is sealed off for good — not just skinned over.
We find where the pond is actually losing water and re-seal it with native clay. A basin spot that never held gets a clay liner packed in; a seam that leaks gets cut out and re-keyed. Clay-lined ponds only — the proven, lasting fix.
Gullied, undersized, or washing emergency spillways re-graded and armored, and principal outlet pipes and risers reset or replaced — sized to your watershed so the big storm passes safely instead of taking the dam.
Rusted, crushed, or pulled-apart outlet and drain pipes that leak along the barrel replaced and re-packed, with the clay compacted back around them so water can't track down the pipe.
Caved, sloughing, or wave-cut banks re-cut to a clean, stable slope, riprap set where erosion keeps coming back, topsoil returned and seeded so the shoreline holds.
Burrows and tunnels through a dam are a leading cause of leaks and blowouts here. We open up the damaged run, re-pack it in compacted clay, and rebuild the face so the embankment is solid again.
If the real problem is a pond gone shallow with silt and muck rather than a leak, that's a cleanout — see our pond cleanout & restoration page. While the pond is down for repair is the right time to do both.
When the dam, spillway, and basin have all let go, a full rebuild on the existing footprint often beats chasing one failure at a time. We re-key the dam, rebuild the spillway, and re-seal the basin in one trip.
Whether it's a leaking dam or a washed-out spillway, the honest steps don't change much.
We look at the pond, the dam face, the spillway, and the outlet, and figure out where the water is actually going — leak, seepage, pipe, spillway, or burrow. Honest read before any paper. Free estimate.
The pond gets drawn down or drained through the outlet or a siphon so the machine can reach the failed section and the ground is dry enough to compact clay against.
We dig out the leaking dam section, the failed spillway, or the bad pipe back to solid, clean ground — chasing a leak or a burrow to its source instead of skinning over the surface.
The dam gets re-keyed into a core trench and rebuilt in compacted clay lifts; a leaking basin gets a clay liner packed in; a spillway gets re-graded and armored — all to NRCS 378 embankment spec.
While the water's down we reset the outlet pipe and riser, size and armor the emergency spillway, and re-cut eroded banks to a clean, stable slope.
We return topsoil, set riprap where erosion is a risk, seed the disturbed ground, and let the pond fill back to grade — repaired to hold, not to limp along.
Plenty of people will push dirt at your leak. Here's what makes repairing a pond with Brohez Trucking different.
We repair ponds the same way we build them — native clay, keyed core, real compaction. Knowing how a good pond holds is what lets us find why yours doesn't. See pond construction.
Levi runs the machine and answers the phone. The man who diagnoses your leak is the man who fixes it — no handoff to a crew you never met.
A leak chased to its source and re-sealed in clay stays fixed. Dirt pushed over a wet spot is back next spring. We do the first one.
Mattoon-based, family-owned, working a 60-mile radius. We know Coles County soils, the moraine, and where the clay turns to outwash sand — and how our dams fail.
Full liability and equipment coverage. Certificate of insurance available on request, before any work starts.
An itemized quote you can read line by line — equipment hours, volume moved, clay and materials, pipe, riprap. No mystery line items, no high-pressure close.
Built to spec, not to shortcut. We rebuild earthen dams to NRCS 378 embankment spec — keyed core trench, compacted lifts, and a spillway sized to the watershed — because that's what keeps a repaired pond from failing again. The value is in the fix that lasts, not the corner cut.
Real iron on real central-Illinois pond and dam work.
A pond that's dropping faster than evaporation and use explain is almost always losing water through the dam or the basin — not straight down. The usual culprits are a leak or seepage path through the earthen dam, a spot where the clay never sealed or was cut by a sandy seam, an old outlet or drain pipe that's rusted or pulled apart, or animal burrows — muskrats especially — tunneling through the embankment. We walk the pond, find where the water is actually going, and fix that rather than guessing. Call (217) 809-0779 for a free look.
Yes, almost always. Once we find where it's losing water, most leaks are fixed by drawing the pond down, opening up the failed spot in the dam or basin, and re-sealing it with compacted native clay — the same way a good pond is built in the first place. A seeping dam gets re-keyed into a clean core trench; a spot in the basin that won't hold gets a clay liner packed in; a failed pipe gets replaced. We repair clay-lined and embankment ponds, and re-sealing with clay is a proven, lasting fix.
We draw the pond down enough to work the dam dry, then dig out the leaking section back to solid ground and cut a clean core trench through it. The dam gets rebuilt in compacted clay lifts keyed into that trench — real compaction, not just pushed-up dirt — so the seepage path is sealed off for good. If the leak follows an old outlet pipe or an animal burrow, we chase it to the source and re-pack around it. Built back to NRCS 378 embankment spec so it holds.
Yes. A washing, gullied, or undersized spillway is one of the most common — and most dangerous — pond problems, because a spillway that can't pass a big storm safely can take the whole dam with it. We rebuild and re-grade the emergency spillway, reset or replace the principal outlet pipe and riser, armor the flow line with riprap where it needs it, and re-seed so it holds. Sized to the watershed feeding your pond.
For most dam, spillway, leak, and pipe work, the pond needs to be drawn down or drained so the machine can reach the problem and the ground is dry enough to compact clay against. If there's an outlet or a way to siphon it down, that's the cleanest path — we'll help figure out how to lower it and let the area firm up before we dig. Some bank and erosion repairs can be done with the pond mostly full.
We repair clay-lined and earthen embankment ponds and dams — farm ponds, fishing and rec ponds, livestock and irrigation ponds, and small lakes across central Illinois. That's the same kind of pond we build: sealed with native clay and fed by the watershed that drains to it. If you have a lined or specialty water feature that's outside earthwork repair, we'll tell you straight at the walk.
We're a Mattoon-based pond and dam repair contractor serving a 60-mile radius across central Illinois — Charleston, Mattoon, Effingham, Decatur, Champaign, Urbana, Sullivan, Tuscola, Shelbyville, Pana, and Terre Haute, plus everywhere in between. Call to confirm if you're near the edge of the radius.
Brohez Trucking LLC repairs leaking dams, failing spillways, and seeping ponds 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.
Losing water, a wet spot on the dam, a spillway washing out? Give us the basics and Levi calls you back the same day with a straight answer. Rather talk now? (217) 809-0779 or text us.
Walk it with us. We'll find where it's failing and tell you straight what it takes to fix it for good — new clay, keyed dam, sized spillway. We move the earth for you.
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