Pond Overflow

[Ax01]

Ok we are in the hottest and dryest stretch the year (mid-July to late Aug) but i wanna plan ahead. And rain can still materialize from outta nowhere in the PacNW despite what the forecast says. And when it rains in Seattle, i wanna be ready for when it POURS! that said, i've been giving thoughts on how to manage (rain) water overflow in the pond that i am building. And i am open to all ideas/feedback. i want to avoid letting water just come over the pond edge when it rains and flood the yard (and have fish get out, if that's a thing).

so i got a bulkhead fitting that couples to barb pipe fitting for my skimmer box that will sit over the water line. excess water will leave the box through these parts, into some kinda flexible pipe on a slope to somewhere for drainage.

Will this work ok? do you have an overflow system for your pond or water feature?

 

[addy1]

My pond is on a slope, the down hill side of the pond is above ground level. I have a stack of rocks there, when it rains a lot the water just flows out. The rocks stop any fish from following the water.

I have gutter water going into the pond which gives great water changes when it does rain.

 

[GBBUDD]

A good rain can easily over whelm a 2" pipe especially if something clogs it . Try to stop run off from getting in the pond that is pretty much a must with all the fertilizers out there today. then like addy said one spot where you have flow for water to run away from the pond a low edge will allowthe water and or debris to sift through

 

[BKHpondcritters]

My skimmer box has a built in overflow pipe that connects to PVC pipe that leads out to the ravine & allows the excess water to flow downhill & away from my yard.

 

[GBBUDD]

For every day rains that works but how does it do in a hurricane that is more similar to the heavy rains they can get out in Seattle

 

[BKHpondcritters]

We get some pretty heavy rains on occasion here in western NC. Not quite 'hurricane' but... we've had 7+" come down overnight before. The other day we had 2" come down in about 30 minutes. That sort of deluge (or 'gully-washer' as we refer to it) is pretty typical around here. Long, steady rains aren't as big a problem as those HUGE downpours that dump inches per hour. So far, so good. Only problem we've had was one time earlier this summer when we had a hill-side blow out (due mostly to mole tunnels & an ill-placed 'decorative' log that blocked run off) that sent a crap-ton of dirt into the upper pool & consequently down into the entire pond. But that had nothing to do with overflow capacity - just bad luck in the location of the blow out. We've never come close to having the pond water level come up to the edge rocks. Our overflow is set about 4" below that.

 

[GBBUDD]

Thats a soaking for sure . wish we would get some soaking rains. sounds like you had fun

 

[BKHpondcritters]

You can have some of ours! We've been WET this summer! Thunderstorms rolling through almost every afternoon. We have a natural spring in the lower portion of our property that is usually pretty much dried up by this point in the year. Nope! Still flowing strong! One good thing - we don't have to worry about our well drying up (which is always a concern in the mountains)

 

[GBBUDD]

I'm surrounded by water but all it does it make tons of humidity

 

[Sunshine]

We built our pond up about 8 inches from the ground with pavers. Put slate on the edge of the pond and dirt between the slate and pavers and planted it. The liner comes up and under the slate. So when we do get a lot of rain, the excess water goes under the slate and into the plants.

 

[AlyssaFish]

Hmm... I just let mine overflow. A trench river has developed leading away from the lowest point in the pond. I'm filling up the overflow area with water-loving plants and intentionally overflowing my pond every time I refill it to flood that area. I want to naturalize the pond plants a little bit so the edge of the pond doesn't seem so abrupt and obvious. No concern about fish getting out because the lowest part of my pond has a big rock over it and little rocks that the water filters through.

But I don't know the first thing about gardening and am a slacker who is too lazy to research it, so I could be doing something horrible for my yard without knowing it.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Hmm... I just let mine overflow. A trench river has developed leading away from the lowest point in the pond. I'm filling up the overflow area with water-loving plants and intentionally overflowing my pond every time I refill it to flood that area. I want to naturalize the pond plants a little bit so the edge of the pond doesn't seem so abrupt and obvious. No concern about fish getting out because the lowest part of my pond has a big rock over it and little rocks that the water filters through.

But I don't know the first thing about gardening and am a slacker who is too lazy to research it, so I could be doing something horrible for my yard without knowing it.

As long as your edge is designed that the fish won't inadvertently get swept over (or be able to intentionally swim over!) during a rain event, and you're good with creating a bit of a 'rain garden' on the down-flow side, then the only other consideration that you might want to keep in mind is that anything you plant could potentially 'escape' into the natural surrounding area. You might want to stick to natives, or keep an eye on what you put in there to make sure seeds & bits of plant matter which could potentially be invasive, don't get away from you. (This same thing also applies to dry garden areas, but water plants are often very vigorous & need management)

 

[AlyssaFish]

As long as your edge is designed that the fish won't inadvertently get swept over (or be able to intentionally swim over!) during a rain event, and you're good with creating a bit of a 'rain garden' on the down-flow side, then the only other consideration that you might want to keep in mind is that anything you plant could potentially 'escape' into the natural surrounding area. You might want to stick to natives, or keep an eye on what you put in there to make sure seeds & bits of plant matter which could potentially be invasive, don't get away from you. (This same thing also applies to dry garden areas, but water plants are often very vigorous & need management)

Good point! I wasn't particularly concerned about this because I live in a desert and it didn't really occur to me that water garden plants would have anywhere to escape to, but I could just be underestimating the plants that I am growing!

I have not had the best luck finding good information on the living conditions of a lot of the plants I grow (and I have found a lot of conflicting information). Do you have any advice on how I might be able to learn more, other than just googling and hoping for the best?

 

[BKHpondcritters]

If you have a regional garden club, members there would probably be a good source for local and native plant information. Perhaps there's even a Master Gardener program in your area? Small, independent nurseries often have at least one staff member who is fairly knowledgeable, as well. Otherwise, there's a whole lot to be said for doing some research, giving it your best & learning by trial & error.

 

[Ax01]

Ah, i forgot i made this thread already and was just about to type up another one on the subject of overflow.

My pond is on a slope, the down hill side of the pond is above ground level. I have a stack of rocks there, when it rains a lot the water just flows out. The rocks stop any fish from following the water.

I have gutter water going into the pond which gives great water changes when it does rain.

A good rain can easily over whelm a 2" pipe especially if something clogs it . Try to stop run off from getting in the pond that is pretty much a must with all the fertilizers out there today. then like addy said one spot where you have flow for water to run away from the pond a low edge will allowthe water and or debris to sift through

my skimmer will be on the side on the pond that leads towards a slope. i will add the low edge on this side of the pond to assist w/ overflow. good idea!

My skimmer box has a built in overflow pipe that connects to PVC pipe that leads out to the ravine & allows the excess water to flow downhill & away from my yard.

i don't have a proper overflow pipe inside the skimmer. i've seen ones where u can adjust the angle of the pipe for your preference which is really neat. Butt i will just have a 2inch hole from the 3inch bulkhead fitting above the water line.

We built our pond up about 8 inches from the ground with pavers. Put slate on the edge of the pond and dirt between the slate and pavers and planted it. The liner comes up and under the slate. So when we do get a lot of rain, the excess water goes under the slate and into the plants.

i like that. i might do that when i decide to build a formal above ground pond or something in the front yard in the future.

Hmm... I just let mine overflow. A trench river has developed leading away from the lowest point in the pond. I'm filling up the overflow area with water-loving plants and intentionally overflowing my pond every time I refill it to flood that area. I want to naturalize the pond plants a little bit so the edge of the pond doesn't seem so abrupt and obvious. No concern about fish getting out because the lowest part of my pond has a big rock over it and little rocks that the water filters through.

But I don't know the first thing about gardening and am a slacker who is too lazy to research it, so I could be doing something horrible for my yard without knowing it.

i like the idea of adding plants in the flood/overflow zone.