Detention and retention pond construction that controls stormwater and meets site requirements.
Detention ponds across Dripping Springs do their job quietly until the limestone underneath them stops cooperating. From Belterra to Headwaters to Caliterra, these basins were built to hold back runoff on rolling Hill Country ground, and most were engineered correctly from the start. What catches up with them is the ground itself: thin soil over rock that does not absorb or settle the way a flatter, deeper-soil site would. A basin that looked fine at handover can be a different animal five years into Hill Country weather.
On the ground, that shows up in predictable ways. Shallow caliche means grading that was supposed to hold a slope ends up shedding soil instead, and bare patches spread across embankments where turf never took. Cedar seedlings root into berms because nobody got out there to pull them before they became trees with real root systems. Hard, fast rain events push limestone grit straight into the forebay, and a pond that used to drain down in a day now holds standing water for a week after a storm, which is usually the first thing a resident or tenant complains about.
Working with Corral Bros on this means we come out, walk the pond with you, and tell you what we actually find, not a generic checklist. If an engineer is attached to the property, we build and repair to that plan rather than redesigning anything ourselves. We handle the excavation, the slope work, the outlet structures, and the stabilization, and we hand the property back to you functioning the way it was meant to. Estimates are free and we typically get on site within 48 hours of your call.
We're a local, family-built company that treats your Dripping Springs property like our own, tidy crews, clear pricing, and detention ponds that holds up to Hays County conditions. Available as a one-time project or part of an ongoing plan.
A detention pond temporarily holds stormwater runoff and releases it slowly, so a developed site doesn't flood downstream neighbors or overwhelm storm drains. Most Central Texas commercial sites, subdivisions and larger developments are required to have detention as part of their drainage permit.
A detention pond drains down to empty between storms and is dry most of the time, while a retention pond holds a permanent pool of water. We build and maintain both, choosing the right one based on your site's soils, drainage requirements and available space.
We schedule a free on-site visit, usually within 48 hours, and walk the basin with whoever manages the property, whether that is a board member, a community association manager, or a GC closing out a site. We check the forebay, the outlet structure, the slopes, and the spillway, and we take rough measurements. If the property has an engineer of record, we work from that plan rather than guessing at the design intent.
Most basins on Hill Country sites need a real look every two to four years, sooner if the pond sits below cedar-covered slopes or caught a heavy runoff season. Triggers we see most often are a forebay full of limestone silt, standing water that will not draw down between storms, or an HOA transition where a developer hands the pond to the association and nobody has touched it since construction.
Yes. On HOA and apartment sites we stage equipment away from guest parking and amenity areas, and we coordinate timing with property management so residents and tenants get notice before excavation or grading starts near common areas. On commercial retail sites we work with the property manager to keep drive aisles and customer parking open while the heavy work happens in the basin itself.
Shallow caliche and exposed limestone mean a basin here often has less soil depth than the original grading plan assumed, so slopes erode faster and bare spots show up on embankments instead of holding grass cover. Hill Country rain tends to come in short, hard bursts rather than steady soakers, which moves a lot of sediment into the forebay fast and can overwhelm an outlet that was sized for gentler flow.
The biggest factors are how much sediment has to come out, how much of the slope needs riprap or liner versus just reseeding, and whether the outlet or outfall structure needs rebuilding or just clearing. Access matters too. A pond tucked behind a winery tasting room or deep in an acreage estate often needs more time to get equipment in than one sitting next to a retail parking lot.
Free, no-pressure estimate from a local crew. Call (737) 404-9343 or request a quote online.
