Frustrating Leak (??) Issue

[ljudice]

Hi - I am new to this form as a poster, but have read many posts and learned a lot here....

I live in New Jersey and built a 14' diameter 2 1/2 foot deep lined pond about 2 years ago. It has been very
successful - new generations of goldfish, great water lily growth - and a family of frogs has made it home.
About a month ago we began to notice the water level being low - by about 3-4 inches - and this was not
accounted for by evaporation.

We do have black bears and a lot of deer in the area. I have not been able to find a leak or tear in the liner,
but the ODD thing is - the pond can be refilled - and sits with NO leakage for 24 hours and then suddenly
it is down by 4-5 inches. Sometimes this happens overnight. Sometimes during the day.

Could a bear or two - or a group of deer drink enough to lower water levels that much? We have never
seen them at the pond - but both use the area as a migration path and come through daily.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[dieselplower]

Hi. Does your pond have a waterfall or stream? This is were most leaks take place.

 

[davepratt]

wish I could help but my pond does the exact same thing theres times when I don't have to put the hose in it for like a week then other times when I have to add water every day cant figure it out either

 

[ljudice]

No, no waterfall or stream... I do have a solar powered aerator - of course only running when sunny.

I have wondered if the muck on the liner seals a leak, but that seems counter intuitive - muck would be stirred up when refilling.

 

[dieselplower]

Well that is strange. Let me ask you this... is it possible that the rocks around the edge mask the leak so you think it is all leaking out at once but you cant really tell because of the rocks? I think in this situation was I would do is see if the leak continues to go down or if it stops eventually. If it stops at some point, you may have found the level of the leak. You could also put something on the ground so that if it is walked on by animals who are drinking, you will know.... something that will show foot prints. Or maybe bubble wrap hahaha.

 

[sissy]

Welcome and I had deer drinking from my pond here and thought it was leaking but caught the deer having a seep .Not sure where you are at in Nj but it has been hot here with little rain .My son still lives back in NJ .He moved back and now lives in Fords section (he thought that was fitting ) He took the buy out from ford when it closed .Could be just splashing has evaporated the water

 

[ljudice]

I actually made a level measurement brick to insure I wasn't going nuts here.... I've let the level go down around 5 inches and it seems to stop - then searched for a leak - however to be exhaustive I need to peal back rock, which is going to be a big job (although I don't see what else to do). One section seems to have more moss growth - but it is also shaded.

Yes it has been dry here... What is odd is that the "leak" started right after our black bears became more visible, usually in the early morning. One thought is that one of them stuck a foot in and sliced the liner.

I am guessing that water lillies are not going to protrude their roots through a liner?

Thanks all for your help!!!

 

[sissy]

I had a mole chew through my liner and had to replace it in March in between snow storms Bear claws can be nasty .I would start where you see stuff growing well as that is the best place .Plus plant roots can grow up over and and around your border rocks and suck water out of the pond to not only feed it's self but other plants .I had roots grow up and between the 2 liners .The one from my water fall over laps the one from my pond by over a foot and the roots grew up between the two .I took out a bucket of roots