Leaking o Evaporation

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I have approx 140gallons in the pondless waterfall. I built it 10 years ago and it has done fine. It’s about 25’-30’ long. I loose about 60 gallons a day. The check valve is working, so no pipe leaks. I don’t see anything obvious, the water is confined to the spillway. I don’t know if it is possible to loose that much water over that 25’-30’. I don’t remember it loosing that much in the past.
 

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Great looking feature! What’s the sunlight situation? Windy? Do the falls create a lot of splashing/vapor? Any recent changes?

I’d start by turning off the falls, filling the reservoir, and checking it once a day for a few days. Water in the reservoir should be pretty impervious to evaporation—at least for a few days. If you lose a lot of water during this test, you most likely have a leak the reservoir liner.

If not, then you’ll need to explore other possibilities like plumbing or a low edge in the liner under the falls. That’s pretty common.
 
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I don't understand the statement "The check valve is working, so no pipe leaks".
What does a check valve have to do with a leak? Please explain.

@combatwombat had some great suggestions.

60 gallons a day water loss seems like a leak to me. You have to isolate things to determine where the leak might be.

In a lot of cases the liner in the stream got disrupted by winter freeze and thaw or by some critters stepping in it.

What are you using for the plumbing between the reservoir and the top of the stream? PVC pipe? Pond hose? Flex PVC?
Is it exposed or buried?
 
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I don't understand the statement "The check valve is working, so no pipe leaks".
What does a check valve have to do with a leak? Please explain.

@combatwombat had some great suggestions.

60 gallons a day water loss seems like a leak to me. You have to isolate things to determine where the leak might be.

In a lot of cases the liner in the stream got disrupted by winter freeze and thaw or by some critters stepping in it.

What are you using for the plumbing between the reservoir and the top of the stream? PVC pipe? Pond hose? Flex PVC?
Is it exposed or buried?
OK the check valve is on the bottom by the pump. When you turn the waterfall on the water immediately comes out of the top there’s no delay. If the check valve was leaking or the hose was leaking the water wouldn’t come right out it would have to build up pressure and then would come out. I have left the Reservoir full and it doesn’t go down if I’m not running a waterfall. So I don’t believe there’s a leak in the reservoir either. I think the problem is either evaporation or it’s splashing over. But I took all the rocks out I check the liner and everything looks good. I’m at my wits end! Thanks Wally
 
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Leaks are difficult to locate.
Maybe it IS evaporation?
Have you had several hot sunny days?
We had a few hot sunny days and my pond level has dropped enough to notice it.

While you have the rocks out of the stream, make sure your liner has a good concave shape and the sides are as high as possible.
 
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You wouldn't "lose" any water if the check valve were leaking. It would just end up back in the reservoir. The only way to identify water loss in a pondless falls is via water level in the reservoir.

Like @poconojoe said, have you had any hot/sunny days? What about windy days?

I would check every inch of your liner's edge for wet spots in the soil. Sometimes you really have to look hard for small holes.

You've said you've had this feature for 10 years. What is your experience with normal water loss around this time of year? What's your baseline?
 
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Good point about the wind.
A combination of hot sunny days and high winds could increase evaporation. And the more splashing, ie waterfalls, streams, fountains, spotters, etc. will exasperate the situation.
 

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