Leaking concrete pond

[nikita]

Hallo I'm new here and to all of this (not a very handywoman - but learning). 28 months ago I had a concrete above ground pond built as a plant area to filter water for my ecopool system. No fish. Just plants. We've had a LOT of rain this winter and the pool is leaking. Not the pipes (have checked). Losing between 1 to 3 inches a day and its not even summer yet.

The base of the pond is concrete +/- 1 inch thick (sand, stone, cement and permabond). On top of the base layer is a builders plastic sheet (not epdm!) and then another 1 inch layer of concrete as above. Ie this is the ground level of the pond. The walls are a mix of sand/cement/permabond and rocks. The whole pond is around 30 inches deep.

I can see areas of water seeping out close to the ground level, perhaps an inch or two above it. Several areas of seepage.

My question is can I actually hope to seal the pond again, given it's construction? And if so, what product to use? or do I need to reconstruct the whole thing?

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

Can you post some pictures? Where do you live?

 

[j.w]

@nikita
You need a concrete person here to help you. Hopefully someone can help w/the cracks which it kinda sounds like you have.

 

[nikita]

Hello and welcome!

Can you post some pictures? Where do you live?

I live in south africa. here are some drawings of the construction

 

[GBBUDD]

permabond is that a cement board? or is it an additive? for others reading this down the road. get the process and techniques iron out before you start building it will save time money and energy down the road.
how about pictures of what you have built thus far .

 

[nikita]

permabond is a latex additive to cement that is used to bond and waterproof. The pool is complete and has worked brilliantly for 28 months. Now, after heavy rains, it appears to be leaking from just above / or below where the liner sits in the wall

 

[GBBUDD]

not much will permanently bond to epdm 28 days is about what i'd expect where liner is covered with concrete to show if there's an issue. concrete does not flex or expand anywhere near what epdm does. thus you'll get a hairline crack and that will leak


how does the water get from the upper pond too the lower

 

[nikita]

not much will permanently bond to epdm 28 days is about what i'd expect where liner is covered with concrete to show if there's an issue. concrete does not flex or expand anywhere near what epdm does. thus you'll get a hairline crack and that will leak


how does the water get from the upper pond too the lower

the liner isn't EPDM. its just builders plastic. the water flows down a waterfall, no liner. same construction materials. Not where it's leaking from. (or the pipes) I've checked. (pump on vs off).

 

[GBBUDD]

Sorry but builders plastic? I am a builder and have used every plastic sheeting and tarp there is and there is not one i would choose to be a liner to a pond build that, i would want to rely on to hold water. .

 

[nikita]

Yup i know that now. At the time i was assured by someone who said they had a LOT of experience and seemed to know what they were talking about that it would be fine, because just an extra layer to the concrete! So I left them to it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing... I also didn't realise until it started leaking that they'd only done the plastic up to just above ground level. I mean i know very little about building pools, but even I know that the liner covers the whole area and then one layer of coppicing on top! So here I am - do I even bother to try fix the obvious cracks or do i turn it into a veg patch safe from moles and build an in ground plant filter pond ? AAARGh

 

[GBBUDD]

IF THE lower pond area is only lined at the bottom what is the black that we are looking at in the picture that runs up the wall to the cap of the wall

 

[nikita]

It's not the lower pond that's leaking. it's the upper pond. the lower pond is a 5000litre rain tank I cut the top off of and sunk into the ground

 

[GBBUDD]

easiest way to do this with results to be proud of is to line the upper pond bring the liner up on top of the wall and build another row . or chip out the existing and then lay the rubber in that

 

[nikita]

what do you think about fibreglassing the interior as an option?

 

[GBBUDD]

That could be an option but anyone who used builders plastic didn't build to last . I would be afraid it would shift and settle and that's the end of the fiberglass