How to Troubleshoot a Leaking Pond.

How to Troubleshoot a Leaking Pond.

Understanding the basic principles of leak detection and repair will save you time, money and headaches in your water garden.

Evaporation
Evaporation is caused by water turning into a vapor and escaping from your pond. The amount of water loss will vary according the area of the country, and time of year. Ponds located in areas of the country with moderate temperatures and high humidity can expect to see 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water loss per week during the spring and summer. Most of this evaporation should be replaced naturally by rain. However, if you live in an area with high temperatures and low humidity, it's possible to see 3 inches or more of evaporation in a week.

The quantity and size of your waterfall(s) will also affect the amount of water loss. Regardless of the climate, a 4' x 6' pond with a 20 foot stream and 5 feet of cascading waterfalls may lose as much as 2 inches or more every day. Splashing and moving water has greater exposure to additional evaporation that does the still water in the pond itself. If that same system had a 16' x 21' pond, you'd probably never even notice the additional evaporation because it's a large pond.

Stream & Waterfall Leaks
Most leaks occur around the stream or waterfall. Carefully inspect the edges of your stream and waterfall. As the dirt around the stream or waterfall settles, it can create low spots that may cause water to escape over the edge of the liner. Look for wet mulch or gravel, or muddy areas around the perimeter of your pond. If you fins spot that's leaking, all you have to do is lift the liner up, and push some soil under it in order to raise the edge.
Another possibility is that water is splashing out of your stream. to fix a "splash leak" all you have to do is adjust a few of the rocks under and around your waterfall. Doing this will contain or redirect the splash.

Still leaking?
If, after you have checked the stream and waterfall, your pond is still losing water, you will need to shut your pump off for a day. By doing this, you'll be able to determine the approximate location of the leak.

Step-By-Step
* Fill the pond water up to the appropriate level.
* Unplug the pump.
* Let the pond sit for 24 hours.
* After 24 hours, check the water level. If the water level of the pond has not dropped, the leak is NOT in the pond itself.
* Check all fittings, plumbing, and pump connections for leaks. The problem may be somewhere in the plumbing.

* If the water has dropped, you do in fact have a leak in your pond.
* To find out where the leak is occurring, allow the water level to continue to drop. The level where the water stops dropping is the level where the leak is located.

At this point, you may want to consider calling in a pond professional, but in order to reveal the exact location of the leak, you'll need to:
1. Remove any rocks around the entire perimeter at the level where the water stopped. You can then carefully check for some sort of puncture, or hole in the liner.
2. When you find the culprit, you simply patch it.
3. Patching the hole is fairly easy if you have the right materials. You'll need a piece of patching material that's appropriate to the type of liner you have. The best thing at this point is to contact the retailer or contractor to help you with this selection.
4. Finally, apply the patch, replace the rocks, fill the pond back to the top and enjoy your pond!

Above information thanks to:
Aquascape Lifestyles Magazine (Spring 2002) Article written by Aaron Powers, a member of the technical service department of Aquascape Designs, Inc.

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