Dam inspections
by a trusted dam engineering expert with over 30 years of earth dam building experience
Why is a site inspection a good idea?
The simple reason is that it will save you thousands of dollars.
Sometimes it’s best to spend a little money, before you spend a lot of money
A site inspection is a wise investment for anyone considering a major dam project or repair. The primary advantage is straightforward: a thorough inspection can potentially save you thousands of dollars by identifying hidden issues before they become costly problems. Spending a modest amount upfront on a professional assessment can prevent much larger expenses and lower the per litre cost of your construction
While some may hesitate at the $500, preferring free advice instead, it’s important to remember that expert advice is valuable because it is unbiased and rooted in experience.
Free advice often comes with hidden motives or lacks the depth needed to make truly informed decisions. By choosing to invest in a proper site inspection, you gain peace of mind, avoid unexpected setbacks, ensure efficient construction and you will be ensuring that your money is spent wisely from the very beginning.
Dam Inspections Are like House Purchase Reports
Getting a report on a house you intend to buy is like getting an expert to check on a dam: both are crucial steps in due diligence that protect your money and keep you safe in the long term.
A house report normally checks the building’s structural soundness, compliance, and any problems that might come up. Experts like Big Ditch complete a dam inspection that looks very closely at the dam’s design, construction, stability, and how well it follows the standards.
Both approaches give you expert guidance that helps you uncover problems, repairs that need to be made, and things that need to be done to keep things running smoothly. This helps you make sensible decisions and stay away from costly surprises in the future.
We have a three stage fixed price consulting process
Your dam happiness is guaranteed
Site inspection & assessment
We help you not make mistakes, and choose the best site and position for your water feature
$500 (inc GST)
See below for details
Complete design service
We create exceptional water features that will make you smile with joy for the next 30 years. We show you what you can do with your available canvas, and expand your understanding of what is possible.
$2,750 (ex GST)
Dam construction
Professional fixed price dam construction. No hidden costs, unexpected invoices or constant variations of the agreed price
$6,000 per mgl
Site inspection, assessment & expert recommendations
I pass on my 30 years of experience building earth dams, and help you not make the mistakes that cost people thousands of dollars
Site inspection & assessment
Support calls
Location
Duration
GST
Price
Site inspection & assessment
2
Onsite
90 mins
Included
$500
What do you get?
For just $500, I’ll personally conduct a comprehensive 90-minute site inspection and assessment—whether you’re planning a new dam or need expert advice on repairs.
This flat fee includes my time, expertise, and travel to your property.
So, what do you get for your investment?
You’ll benefit from three decades of hands-on experience—more earth dams built than anyone else in Australia. My focus is on delivering practical, actionable recommendations in plain English, tailored to your unique needs and goals.
During your on-site consultation, I’ll:
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Listen carefully to your objectives and vision for the project
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Thoroughly assess your site’s specific conditions
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Raise awareness of any potential challenges or opportunities
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Present a range of clear, achievable solutions to help you make the best decision
Let’s turn your dam project into a success—book your consultation today!
Details
For The Detail Oriented
Paying this site inspection fee means you are getting independent advice that is best for you and your situation.
If you’re getting free dam consulting advice, it means the person wants the job, and that means their advice will be skewed towards getting you to sign up for the most amount of money, for the least investment of his time
When you engage me to consult for you, my priorities are – to give you the most workable plan, for the least investment of your funds, for the best outcome of your present and future water security
The Value of Knowledge
I am the most knowledgeable person in Australia when it comes to earth dams. That’s not ego, bluster or big mouthing.
It is simply a fact
I was President of BHP Diamonds, and oversaw the construction of two of the biggest tailings dams ever built.
After retiring early from BHP in 2002, I started building dams, and that’s all I have done, every day, for the last nineteen years
I will not drop a box of tired old thinking at your dam site
This is Personal
If I’m not working on a clients dam, I’m working on my own 14 dam, 25 acre permaculture/water storage testing facility at Crescent Head
https://www.bigditch.com.au/research/
I have built more earth dams in Australia than anyone else (323 and increasing every week)
Experience saves money
I am an authority of earth dam design and construction – and I write extensively and deeply about all aspects of earth dams – Learn about earth dams
My experience is not only theoretical, it is practical and technical
I have over 18,000 hours of heavy machine operation under my belt
I consult globally – at present advising on major earth dam repair projects in Mexico (permaculture), Ukraine (community water) and Utah in USA (lake) via phone/email/zoom
Award winning E.A.T
In 2020, I won the Australian Enterprise Award for Innovation in Dam Construction & Design
Go anywhere in Australia, and type in ‘dam builder’ into Google, and Big Ditch will appear No.1 in the listing.
That’s because Google’s algorithm presents search results based on the E.A.T formula – expertise, authority and trustworthiness
I don’t know about wine, or women, or fashion – I only know about one thing – earth dams
Focus
I only do one thing – build dams.
If you’ve got a road to be graded, trees to cleared, house pad to be built – I can’t help you.
There are better people than me to do those things – and besides, I’m so busy with work, those things are not extra money to me, they are distractions from what I love doing
Waterbender
As a CAT-certified Level 5 heavy earthmoving operator, I transform raw land into living art—turning 25-tonne machines into precision tools for crafting exquisite aquatecture landscapes.
Every project is thoughtfully designed to sit naturally within its environment, using proven aesthetic principles to create optimal sightlines to water.
The outcome? Beautiful, functional spaces that enrich your lifestyle and connect you with nature like never before.
Green Dams
All my dams are 100% permaculture compliant, and they achieve best practice water harvesting efficiencies with the use of advanced swale technology
They are also advanced food producing mechanisms ready to be harnessed by you (fish friendly, edible water plant ready for installation)
If you are drowning in uncertainty and grasping for answers, at a site visit I will advise you on:
- optimum location and siting of dams on your property (current, proposed, future)
- most effective utilisation the topography of available land for best strategies for optimal water harvesting
- soil suitability
- topographical suitability
- best dam design for your lifestyle, environment aesthetics, functional use
- best construction techniques for your location/topography/dam type
- optimal VSD (volume, surface, depth) ratio for minimum evaporation loss
- why you should know about where the inversion layer is located in water bodies
- what the effect is on your back pocket if the inversion layer is not properly incorporated in the dam design
- hazards that present a danger to current/future dams on your project site
- best practice for maintenance and management of new dam
- best dam repair strategies if your current dams leak with weepage, seepage or leakage (do you know the difference? You will after we talk)
- what are the only 4 ways to repair a dam (what are the advantages and disadvantages of each, what is the cost of each, what is the success rate of each option)
- how to select a competent contractor to build your dam – and what to be aware of
- what to ask a dam contractor before you say yes to construction – do these two things
- evaporation management strategies and techniques. (a dam with naked water will lose 3 times its volume to evaporation each year)
- what to consider when ensuring your dam will survive a 1 in 100 weather event
- how controlled overtopping works in case of black swan events
- why keyways are failed technology, and why you should never engage someone who proposes to build a dam with a keyway
- why ‘wall wedge methodology’ is the only way to successfully construct a failproof and leak-proof dam wall
- why you should never hire a dam builder or earthmover on an hourly basis
- why your new dam will look like it’s leaking for the first 3 months
- what is evotranspiration, and why it is essential to prevent massive cracks in the top of your wall?
- why all dams walls should be 22.5 degrees, and why dams walls above 35 degrees of slope ingress will leak
- what are infinity dams, and how they can be designed and implemented on your project site
- why every dollar you spend on water you can see from where you spend 70% of your time in the house will return you $3 when you sell the house
The Fine Print
If I am more than 150kms from my last inspection to your inspection, I charge an additional 78 cents per kilometre
All site assessments must be paid for 48 hours before they commence
Let’s have a chat!
If you would like me to assess your site, save you thousands of dollars and get your project sorted, drop me an e-mail at angus@bigditch.com.au
Our Dam Consulting services include:
01
Dam Performance Audits
02
Site selection
03
Inspection and reporting
04
Preparation of Operation and Maintenance Plans
05
Major project planning & delivery and governance
06
Irrigation modernisation programs
How to make very good decisions
My $2,500 report is the Gold Standard
Making decisions about dam rehabilitation requires the vigilant & thorough evaluation of all current risks and problems associated with the dam in its current form.
During dam consulting sessions each problem is addressed with:
- a cohesive and comprehensive overview based on known technical information
- an analysis of how each problem, or is, effecting the client’s rainwater harvesting
- specific details about how each problem came to exist
Each report starts with a SWOT analysis that looks at all positive & negative issues affecting the dam in a summary form.