I know I promised to report on my trip to California when I returned. However, I returned to an issue with my own pond. I am losing water. I know that 99% of the time, water loss is caused by problems in waterfalls or other connecting areas. Very often, a liner in a waterfall is exposed to more sunlight and becomes brittle. Another issue with waterfalls can be settling that allows the liner to slip to a lower level in one or more places. I have a lot of plants growing in my waterfall and sometimes roots can also push edges of the liner down, allowing water to escape.
My pond is actually two ponds joined by a small river. So I have three waterfalls. I have my original small 3x5 pond that started this addiction and an 8x12 pond that we added later. The large pond holds the pump. There are two hoses going from the pump to the large waterfall. One hose goes directly into the fall and the other goes into the bio-filter. The bio-filter is also equipped with an overflow hose that also goes into the waterfall.
The pump also has a hose that runs to the waterfall of the small pond, so all the water is circulated together. The water drains from the small pond into the river, leading to another small waterfall the pours back into the large pond.
I have been losing about 20 inches of water a day. In a 3x5 pond four inches can be considered a large loss. Add to that the second pond and a stream and twenty inches of water is massive.
Earlier in the season, I checked the liner of my large waterfall for settling and readjusted it as needed. The liner was still pliable and in good repair…so I thought.
We have had so much rain; the ground was too wet to find any standing water that might be leaking from the pond. We’ve had a couple of dry days now and I began testing this morning.
My first step was to turn off the valves going into the large waterfall. I waited two hours and checked the water level. I had already lost about two inches of water. I knew the small waterfall was not the issue. I looked for overflow on it as soon as I returned and found I had a problem (that liner is brittle and needs replacing). That was the easiest job since there is no filtration system up there.
An inch of water per hour is an incredible loss. There are screens on the drains from the small pond into the river. They have stopped up before with algae or debris that falls into the pond and caused an overflow. That wasn’t the problem this time.
I moved the rocks along the river edge, where the liner meets the drains of the small pond. I raised the liner a bit and immediately discovered water under the river’s liner.
The mouth of the river is very small. The dogs, kids and even the guys often use it for a “short-cut”. However, it’s very rocky there and stumbling often occurs. There could be a leak around the drainpipe itself or it is possible the dirt under the liner at the very top has settled allowing water to backwash and run underneath.
For now, I don’t want to assume that is my only problem. I have had my ponds for several years now so it is possible that there are other issues. I have turned off the valve to the small waterfall and I will monitor the water level with only the large waterfall running. I have tested the hose going directly into the large waterfall and found no leaks there. Hopefully, I won’t find any problems with the bio-filter either. So far, it has been a little over an hour since I last refilled the pond and proper water level has maintained.
If it turns out that my only issue is the mouth of the river, I will need to allow some drying time. If the drain itself is leaking, I’ll need to drain some water out of the small pond and let the area dry. Then I will have to put new glue around the drainpipe. If I find settling of the liner, it will simply be a matter of pushing a little bit of dirt back under the liner above the drain to raise it back above the waterline of the drain.
I will continue to keep you informed. Next time I will give you an update and tell you all about the dangers of cattails, or maybe I should call it, “the lessons learned in California”.
My pond is actually two ponds joined by a small river. So I have three waterfalls. I have my original small 3x5 pond that started this addiction and an 8x12 pond that we added later. The large pond holds the pump. There are two hoses going from the pump to the large waterfall. One hose goes directly into the fall and the other goes into the bio-filter. The bio-filter is also equipped with an overflow hose that also goes into the waterfall.
The pump also has a hose that runs to the waterfall of the small pond, so all the water is circulated together. The water drains from the small pond into the river, leading to another small waterfall the pours back into the large pond.
I have been losing about 20 inches of water a day. In a 3x5 pond four inches can be considered a large loss. Add to that the second pond and a stream and twenty inches of water is massive.
Earlier in the season, I checked the liner of my large waterfall for settling and readjusted it as needed. The liner was still pliable and in good repair…so I thought.
We have had so much rain; the ground was too wet to find any standing water that might be leaking from the pond. We’ve had a couple of dry days now and I began testing this morning.
My first step was to turn off the valves going into the large waterfall. I waited two hours and checked the water level. I had already lost about two inches of water. I knew the small waterfall was not the issue. I looked for overflow on it as soon as I returned and found I had a problem (that liner is brittle and needs replacing). That was the easiest job since there is no filtration system up there.
An inch of water per hour is an incredible loss. There are screens on the drains from the small pond into the river. They have stopped up before with algae or debris that falls into the pond and caused an overflow. That wasn’t the problem this time.
I moved the rocks along the river edge, where the liner meets the drains of the small pond. I raised the liner a bit and immediately discovered water under the river’s liner.
The mouth of the river is very small. The dogs, kids and even the guys often use it for a “short-cut”. However, it’s very rocky there and stumbling often occurs. There could be a leak around the drainpipe itself or it is possible the dirt under the liner at the very top has settled allowing water to backwash and run underneath.
For now, I don’t want to assume that is my only problem. I have had my ponds for several years now so it is possible that there are other issues. I have turned off the valve to the small waterfall and I will monitor the water level with only the large waterfall running. I have tested the hose going directly into the large waterfall and found no leaks there. Hopefully, I won’t find any problems with the bio-filter either. So far, it has been a little over an hour since I last refilled the pond and proper water level has maintained.
If it turns out that my only issue is the mouth of the river, I will need to allow some drying time. If the drain itself is leaking, I’ll need to drain some water out of the small pond and let the area dry. Then I will have to put new glue around the drainpipe. If I find settling of the liner, it will simply be a matter of pushing a little bit of dirt back under the liner above the drain to raise it back above the waterline of the drain.
I will continue to keep you informed. Next time I will give you an update and tell you all about the dangers of cattails, or maybe I should call it, “the lessons learned in California”.
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