Lethermon Grade Excavations
Retention Pond Excavation services by Lethermon Grade Excavations — professional excavation contractor in Bradenton and Sarasota FL
Service

Retention Pond Excavation

New stormwater ponds dug to engineered plans, plus dredging and restoration of ponds that have silted in — built to Florida code and the water district's permit.

5.0 Rating | Fully Insured
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“We've had the pleasure of working with Kam & Lethermon Grade Excavations on multiple pool…” — Gulf2Bay Pools

Fully Insured
5-Star Rated
Locally Owned
24-Hour Response

About Our Retention Pond Excavation Service

Nearly every new development in Florida is required to manage its own stormwater on-site, and the retention or detention pond is how that gets done. We excavate new ponds to the exact volume, side slopes, and control elevations an engineer's plan calls for — and we dredge and reshape existing ponds that have filled in with silt and vegetation.

This is precision earthwork, not just digging a hole. The pond has to hold the right volume, drain at the right rate, and tie into the site's grading and outfall structure so the whole property drains the way the plan and the water district require. We build ponds that pass inspection and keep working for decades.

We work for the developers and general contractors who need a pond dug as part of a larger site-development package, and for the HOAs, ranches, and property owners whose existing pond has silted in, eroded, or stopped holding water the way it should.

Built-to-Plan Guarantee

We excavate to the engineered volume, slopes, and elevations on your stormwater plan. If the pond doesn't meet the plan at inspection because of our work, we correct it at our expense.

What's Included

New wet-detention & dry-retention ponds
Excavation to engineered volume & slopes
Pond dredging & silt removal
Reshaping & restoring existing ponds
Littoral shelf grading
Bank stabilization & erosion control
Outfall & control-structure tie-in
Spoil haul-off or on-site placement
Stormwater permit coordination
Culvert & pipe connections
See Retention Pond Work
See Retention Pond Work

Hear from the Owner

Grading & Utility Expertise

Laser-guided precision grading and code-compliant utility trenching.

Why Every Florida Development Needs a Stormwater Pond

Florida's flat terrain, sandy soil, and heavy summer rains mean stormwater has nowhere to go on its own. So state and local code require most new construction — residential subdivisions, commercial pads, industrial parks — to capture and manage its own runoff on-site. The retention or detention pond is the heart of that system, and it can't be an afterthought: its volume, slopes, and outfall are engineered and permitted before the project breaks ground.

As an excavation contractor that handles full site development, we dig these ponds as an integrated part of the earthwork — balanced with the site's cut-and-fill so the spoil from the pond often becomes the fill that raises the building pads. That coordination saves developers money and keeps the whole site draining to plan. We build to the Southwest Florida Water Management District's standards and the county's stormwater code every time.

Excavated to engineered volume, slopes & control elevations
Wet-detention and dry-retention ponds
Littoral shelves and planted edges where required
Balanced with site cut-and-fill to reuse pond spoil as pad fill
Outfall structures, weirs, and pipe tie-ins
SWFWMD and county stormwater compliance
See our commercial site development

Retention Pond Excavation Process

How Retention Pond Excavation Works

01

Plan & Permit Review

We review the engineered stormwater plan and coordinate the water-district / county permit before any dirt moves.

02

Layout & Dewatering

Stake the pond footprint, manage Florida's high water table, and set up erosion control and silt fencing.

03

Excavate to Spec

Dig to the exact volume, side slopes, and elevations the plan calls for — with littoral shelves where required.

04

Finish & Stabilize

Tie in the outfall structure, grade and stabilize the banks, and leave the pond inspection-ready.

Where We Work

Retention Pond Excavation Across Southwest Florida

We excavate, dredge, and restore retention and detention ponds across Southwest Florida — for developments, HOAs, ranches, and property owners from the coast to the eastern county line.

Sarasota, FL

100+ retention pond excavation projects

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Bradenton, FL

100+ retention pond excavation projects

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Venice, FL

28+ retention pond excavation projects

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Lakewood Ranch, FL

35+ retention pond excavation projects

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Parrish, FL

19+ retention pond excavation projects

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Palmetto, FL

14+ retention pond excavation projects

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St. Petersburg, FL

8+ retention pond excavation projects

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North Port, FL

11+ retention pond excavation projects

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Siesta Key, FL

6+ retention pond excavation projects

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Longboat Key, FL

6+ retention pond excavation projects

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Anna Maria, FL

5+ retention pond excavation projects

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Holmes Beach, FL

6+ retention pond excavation projects

View Holmes Beach Services

St. Pete Beach, FL

5+ retention pond excavation projects

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Retention Pond Excavation Gallery

See Our Retention Pond Excavation Work

Retention Pond Excavation project by Lethermon Grade Excavations — photo 1
Retention Pond Excavation project by Lethermon Grade Excavations — photo 2
Retention Pond Excavation project by Lethermon Grade Excavations — photo 3
+3 more

Pond Dredging & Restoration for Existing Properties

Ponds don't stay the way they were built. Over years, silt and organic muck settle to the bottom, banks slump and erode, and cattails and brush choke the edges — until the pond no longer holds its design volume or drains the way it should. HOAs, ranches, and property owners across Sarasota and Manatee counties call us to bring a tired pond back.

We dredge out the accumulated muck, haul it off or place it on-site, reshape the banks and side slopes back to a stable grade, and restore the pond's engineered volume. Where erosion is the problem, we stabilize the banks so it doesn't come back. For existing ponds that have silted in — plus lake bank and shoreline restoration — see our dedicated pond dredging & restoration service.

See pond dredging & restoration

Key Takeaways

Muck and silt dredging & removal
Bank reshaping and re-grading
Erosion repair and stabilization
Restoring original design volume
Overgrowth and vegetation clearing
Spoil haul-off or on-site placement

Client Reviews

Retention Pond Excavation Reviews

5.0 Average Rating

"Lethermon Excavating is a company that takes care of your excavating needs from A to Z. Customer service is very high, and that's hard to find in this day and age. Takes responsibility, is very clear in communicating the needs to get the job done and arrives on time. He is currently working on our retention ponds, before moving on to take out 37 dead Cuban Laurels so we can start planning the enhancement project at our site."

Guard House

Property Manager

"Kameron and his team are great. We hired Kameron to rebuild a berm to keep water away from our condo building. He provided useful advice when we scoped out the project and constructed the berm efficiently, quickly and with high quality. We value reliable contractors who perform quality work at a competitive cost, and we will be using Kam and his team for future projects."

Alan Feibelman

Condo Association

"Kameron did everything he said he would do and more. Years of having a flooded back yard are over! Highly recommend."

Dorrie Lussier

Homeowner

FAQ

Retention Pond Excavation Questions

Do I need a permit to dig a retention pond in Florida?
Almost always, yes. Stormwater ponds are regulated by the county and the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). For new development the pond is part of the engineered site plan and its permit; for larger private ponds a permit is usually still required. We coordinate the permitting as part of the job.
What's the difference between a retention pond and a detention pond?
A retention (wet) pond holds a permanent pool of water; a detention (dry) pond holds water only during and after a storm and then drains down. Which one your site needs is set by the engineered stormwater plan — we build both to spec.
My existing pond has filled in with muck and won't hold water — can you fix it?
Yes. Over time ponds silt in, banks erode, and vegetation takes over. We dredge out the accumulated muck, reshape the banks and side slopes, restore the design volume, and stabilize the edges so the pond drains and holds the way it was engineered to.
Do you work for developers and GCs, or just property owners?
Both. We dig new ponds as part of a full site-development package for builders, developers, and general contractors, and we handle pond dredging and restoration for HOAs, ranches, and individual property owners.

Related Services

Drainage Solutions
Excavation
Stormwater Systems
Site Development

We Serve These Areas

SarasotaBradentonVeniceLakewood RanchParrishPalmetto
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