To till or not to till, that is the question – compacted clay

Ok… so I have a conundrum on my hands… I’m team no dig… and am starting to ecologically restore my 1/3rd of an acre lot… however, the clay is so fine and compacted, it creates standing pools when it rains. I am considering a one time dig to mix in 20 cubic yards of compost and another 20+ cubic yards of wood chips. I am going to rent an excavator because I have to pull up bamboo rhizomes anyway… and am going to make a pond and a couple swales. So I’m curious if a one time dig is justifiable because there is very little life in the clay right now…