How to Troubleshoot Your Pond for a Leak

Step 1: Does The Your Pond Actually Have A Leak?
It's hard to imagine how much water can evaporate from a pond during the dog days of summer.

1. It's been our experience that a pond in extreme heat can typically lose 1" to 1 1/2" inches of water each week.
2. Pond owners in hot, arid climates have reported evaporation levels in excess of 3" a week.

Remember, these are averages, & everyone's circumstances vary. Some ponds may not experience evaporation levels this high, while other ponds with large pumps pushing high volumes of water, and /or ponds designed with multiple waterfalls with a lot of cascades and splashing, may have evaporation rates much greater than these.

Step 2: Look For Low Edges
1. Here's a little secret. 99% of all leaks are not due to a hole in the liner, but rather water making its way over the edges of the pond, stream, or waterfalls, due to an overgrowth of aquatic plants.
2. Look for any low edges. "Settling" at the pond's edge is the most common cause of a leak in a new pond.
3. Typically, the low edges are found around the stream and waterfall where settling may have occurred after a few rainfalls. These areas are usually built up during the construction of the pond using the soil from the excavation, and are prone to some settling.
4. Low edge signs
-Wet mulch along the edge of the pond or stream
-Wet gravel along the edge of the pond or stream
5. You may need to move back the gravel in certain areas to find the low edge.

How To Fix A Low Edge
Low edges can be built back up by simply backfilling and compacting soil beneath the liner in order to raise the edge of the liner above the water level.

Step 3: Look For Obstructions In The Stream And Waterfalls
Check to make sure nothing is causing the leak by restricting the flow of water down the waterfalls or stream. Any adjustment of the rocks in the waterfall may have inadvertently caused some of the water to be diverted over the liner.
Water can make its way over the edge due to excessive aquatic plant or algae growth in the stream or BIOFALLS®. The water simply gets backed up from all of the excess aquatic plant growth. Plants and algae should be maintained by trimming them back in order to let the water pass freely.

Step 4: Shut Down The Pump
You have spent 15 minutes or so following the suggestions listed above and you still can't find the leak. Well, we now have to go one step further and try to narrow things down a little more.

1. If the water level has dropped then you know the leak is in the pond.
2. If the water level remains the same in the pond then it is assumed that the leak is in the stream or plumbing.

If The Leak Is In The Pond

1. If you are concentrating on looking for the leak, then completely ignore the waterfalls/stream.
2. When the water level has stopped dropping, then concentrate your search around the perimeter of the pond at the level that the water has stopped dropping.
3. If the water level stopped below the bottom of the skimmer faceplate you can rule out the skimmer and concentrate elsewhere.
4. If the water level is above the bottom of the faceplate you should investigate the skimmer. It may not have sealed correctly, but don't tear apart the skimmer faceplate.

If The Leak Is In The Skimmer

1. Investigate the skimmer faceplate without disassembling it.
2. Simply move a few rocks around the front of the skimmer and slide your hand behind the liner. Feel for wet soil around the opening of the skimmer.
3. If you do determine it is the skimmer, you will need to pull it apart, clean it and re-apply the silicone and set the screws.

If It's Not The Skimmer

1. Investigate the liner for small punctures around the perimeter of the pond where the water level has stopped.
2. Unfortunately, the only effective way to find this type of leak is to start moving rocks and gravel and search for the leak by hand and eye.
3. The leak, once found, can be easily fixed using Aquascapes's EPDM patch tape.

Good Luck and Happy Pondering!!!