Pond Leak

[Lisak1]

Before you do that, carefully check around the edges of the pond - see if there are any low spots where water could just be escaping over the side. Even an area where water is being wicked out by a fold in the liner can result in significant and surprising amounts of water loss.

Just trying to save you some hard work. Like I said up there an actual hole or tear in an EPDM liner is USUALLY not the cause of sudden water loss in an established pond. Generally you would know that something sharp - like a falling rock, someone walking in the pond stepping on sharp rocks or a even dog's claw struggling to get out after falling in - potentially caused a tear or maybe you know you had burrowing animals that could be chewing at the liner from the back or underside. Liners don't just rip or tear on their own - unless you have a construction issue where you had a stress point from a liner being stretched too tight up against something sharp, or something sharp hits that stretched liner.

 

[420benz]

As you can see this is the water leak level.The normal level is just over the rock in yellow. You can see the leak level is below the top of the liner.

 

[420benz]

This is the Pond.

 

[brokensword]

@420benz you're going to have to do the hard work of actually pulling back your edge and looking for any low spot, if you suspect the pond is leaking. Have you confirmed no plumbing (you DO have plumbing else your wfall would not work) or wfall leak by turning them off, filling the pond, and waiting for final stop point? If this 2" lower level is where it stops, that's where you look, whether by pulling back the edge and inspecting or actually looking for a tear/rip/chew hole. Is your wfall totally lined underneath? Is the liner ONE liner or two? Does the pond liner, if separate, go up high enough under your wfall liner so as not to wick? Is your autofill system the level at which the water stops leaking? Maybe it's siphoning back? I'd not have such a system actually physically connected to the pond but instead, with an air gap between.

 

[420benz]

I plan on doing all of the above in the spring. It is to cold now.
But thanks for all of the Great Info.

 

[GBBUDD]

here's the little i can see from your pic that may lead to tge leak as I have included you can see the fold in tge rubber we all have them. Even though this is rubber and does not absorb water the water can what we call whick. This is where the water is pulled up by physics. Tge water can actually travel up to and inch or more in HEIGHT above the water line. You can see it the pic under tge fold is still wet. Perfect suspect but the only way to know is to follow the fold to the edge and see it the ground is wet. I would suspect something like that or even if your sides are that low the water can actually whick up a rock. YES WATER CAN FLOW UPHILL ON ITS OWN WITHOUT A PUMP. it looks like your

sides may not be.much higher then your water level hard to tell.

 

[addy1]

I had a leak, could not find the sucker anywhere, well finally found it, a fold in my bog liner, yep the water was wicking up and out. Hardly noticeable, but there it was. I also have had leaks due to deer, they step on a rock push it down next thing the liner is too low and there goes the water.

 

[Lisak1]

It's amazing how much water can get out of a low edge. I had an inside-the-pond iris that decided to also be an outside-the-pond iris, and just the creeping rhizome pushing down on the edge on it's way to freedom quickly became visible water loss. We still blamed the waterfall because of where the ground was wet, and then I spied with my little eye my friend the sneaky iris... and right then, I knew!

 

[addy1]

Creeping jenny and some grasses pushed down the back edge of my bog, grew up and over and the water followed.

 

[Mmathis]

@420benz How are your fish doing? Didn’t you just recently have some illness problems?

 

[420benz]

I treated the pond for Ich and fungus but they all died. My plan is in Post #6. I did know about water wicking but now I do thanks to?all of you guys. Thanks

 

[420benz]

OK So how do i fix this wicking problem in the folds? I could remove the rocks around the fold and put dirt behind the fold so it is straight up or ?????. There are many folds around this pond.

 

[addy1]

OK So how do i fix this wicking problem in the folds? I could remove the rocks around the fold and put dirt behind the fold so it is straight up or ?????. There are many folds around this pond.

I fixed my one by putting dirt behind it, so the fold was more upright. Before it was laying flat, then slightly pointed down, outside of the pond.

Look for wet, that will tell you which fold is the problem, doubt it is all of them.

 

[Lisak1]

Exactly. Re-fold so it’s upright with dirt behind to keep it straight. Just look for wet areas. Don’t worry about folds in general.

 

[GBBUDD]

Just because there is a fold that does not mean that's your leak but if you peal back the rocks carefully on a dry day and your soil is wet . Bingo there's one . in the photo i circled the fold it looked like the fold was wet a suspect it maybe traveling. The best thing to do is lift the outer edges so you have at least 3" if not more from the water high level mark. Another option you can do which will help the rubber keep the shape you fix it to is, to caulk that fold if will help the rubber keep that shape and help stop the whicking . but it usually has to be dry depending on your caulking. . . Again not all the folds will be your issue unless your heights are real low.
Another whicker is plants mainly dead ones as they can do the same. Many stems of plants are hollow acting like a straw.