Leak or no Leak. That is the question

[texmaster]

So I do believe I have a small leak in one of my waterfalls after finding water on the underside of the liner opposite side of the pond where the skimmer waterfall is attached. I've turned that one off and let the bottom drain keep going through the night. So last night about 9 I turned off the auto filler and took a shot of the water level.

Then I took one this morning at 6:30. Temps are in the upper 70s

It looks like its down about a 1/4 of an inch. Is this normal? I do have a lot of rocks on my waterfall. (the bottom drain is the waterfall on the right)

I'm waiting for some waterfall foam to come in so I can shore up the liner on the skimmer waterfall after putting on a sealant but just checking to make sure the bottom drain isn't a problem as well.

 

[sissy]

sorry to hear and leaks are a scary thing .I know that .Hoping for you that it is not the bottom drain .Number one reason I have never put one in .I have ennough problems and work and do not need to worry about that .Hoping it is the easy fix for you

 

[addy1]

The best way to tell, turn everything off for xx time, see if the water drops, then turn on one thing at a time, if you can and see if the water drops.
I wouldn't worry about a 1/4 inch but is with my set up, not yours. If you see wet outside of the pond then you do need to research that wet.

I loose a lot of water this time of year, 1-2 inches a day. The surface area, the 4 water falls, the stream, plant use in the bog, evaporation, it all adds up. I just run the hose for x time every day to refill.

 

[sissy]

like I say the only time a pond is not loosing water is when it is raining

 

[texmaster]

So that looks normal to you guys?

Yeah haven't found anything wet but its also been raining. The only leak I've found I've identified and that waterflow is currently off.

 

[sissy]

Depends on your temps. and your rain amount since you first noticed the drop .I lost 2 inch's in 2 days with the 90 degree weather .You can try what addy says to make sure .But evaporation from your water fall could be a lot .The rocks get hot the water evaporates

 

[Mmathis]

like I say the only time a pond is not loosing water is when it is raining

Good one, Sissy, except with our torrential rains when ponds are overflowing, LOL.

 

[addy1]

Depends on your temps. and your rain amount since you first noticed the drop .I lost 2 inch's in 2 days with the 90 degree weather .You can try what addy says to make sure .But evaporation from your water fall could be a lot .The rocks get hot the water evaporates

And splash and droplets and and and............... From the time I turn my pond on until it is off it is "losing" water.

 

[sissy]

true .But even with the heavy rains my overflow has handled it so been lucky there

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Don't know where in Texas that you are located. but maybe this map will help. It is the average daily pan evaporation rates for last week.

It seems that your water loss is likely all evaporation.

 

[Mmathis]

@Meyer Jordan That's interesting, so I Googled "pan evaporation" to learn more. I found an article with this generalization statement:

"A rough, average DAILY approximation of evap per day from a small, shallow pond (excluding "leakage" through the bottom) would be somewhere on the order of 1/4" per day. Sunny, low-humidity, windy days will have higher evaporation rates; humid, mostly-cloudy, "calm" days will have lower evaporation rates....."

So, 1/4" per day, under ordinary circumstances, is to be expected. Good to know for the next time this question comes up!

@texmaster Looks like you might be OK, but best advice would be to simply keep an eye on things.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Humidity is one of the biggest factors in evaporation rates.

 

[texmaster]

Don't know where in Texas that you are located. but maybe this map will help. It is the average daily pan evaporation rates for last week.
View attachment 94124
It seems that your water loss is likely all evaporation.

Thank you! I'm in dallas

So last night I turned off all the pumps and the auto fill. Took a snapshot last night and will take one when I get home.

The whole reason I've been conscerned is because my daughter trying to help out her daddy turned the water off around the side but she inadvertently turned off the auto fill as well.

The next day when I got home in the late afternoon the skimmer was struggling for water. That was a good 1.5 inches down.

 

[EricV]

@Meyer Jordan what web site does that map come from?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

@Meyer Jordan what web site does that map come from?

http://www.usda.gov/oce/weather/pubs/Weekly/Wwcb/

Click on Bulletin. When the PDF loads scroll to Pan Evaporation. This is only available during the growing season but it will give you an idea what the evaporation range for your area is. The evap rates are not available for all areas, only those that have agricultural lands.
This is also a good guideline for evap rates-