Water Over Flowing - And Edging Question

[TK9NY]

The water is finally clearing (yay!) But now there is too much of it! It's been raining all night (and doesn't look like it'll let up any time soon) and the pond went from being a few inches below the edging to lapping right at it. I used a bucket to drain some back to appropriate depth, and i plan to raise the edges when i get home from work tomorrow, but i had two questions.

1) How do i prevent flooding so that when my floating plants are in there they don't come out with the water? Fish too. Obviously i can bucket some water out as needed but if i'm gone for a full day/night and can't do that, what are my options? How do you guys prevent your ponds from overflowing?

2) I'm super paranoid about the edge of the liner not being secure enough and "slipping" or "folding" in and causing the pond to leak/run. I know some people fold/tuck the edge of the liner in on itself to hide it, others layer rock on it. Right now mine is held in place by pavers. When i raise the edge on the slightly lower side there will only be 3-4 inches that will be weighed down by pavers..... will that be okay? Will the liner just fold in and/or slide into the pond or something?

As i'm typing, the gentle rain became a downpour....Maybe i'll raise the edges before i go to work TODAY if we get a let up in the rain lol.

 

[cas]

I think you need to provide an overflow for your pond.
The arrow in the picture below is where my overflow is. The liner is lower here so the water can flow out of the pond instead of overflowing the sides of the pond.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

A pond overflowing from rainfall should not cause any loss of plants or fish. Rain just does not fall fast enough for an extended period of time for this to happen. Its basic math. However, if your pond is subject to run-off or a flooding situation in your yard a real problem could develop.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

How do you guys prevent your ponds from overflowing?

Like Cas I have an overflow designed into my pond. In fact I deliberately run a constant tickle into my pond which accomplishes an ongoing slow safe water change and keeps the water level constant as the excess water overflows at the predetermined level. Excess rain water drains out of the pond in the same way.
To prevent floating plants and fish from flowing out the overflow you simply create a shallow rocky area at the overflow point which effectively blocks plants and fish from escaping but only allows water to easily pass through.
As Meyers alluded to, the more common serious problem occurs when people choose to build their ponds in a natural low spot in their yard where excess rain water tends to accumulate. Building a pond in the lowest area around also makes it difficult, if not impossible, to design an overflow point on the pond as well because there is no lower area for the water to flow to. I think this is a point that does not get stressed enough when people talk about where and how to design and build ponds.

 

[Lisak1]

Agreed! Every pond needs an overflow. Ours is hidden in our rain exchange. Even with the capacity to store 2000 gallons underground, we have still had rains that overfilled the pond. Nature doesn't always play along!

 

[TK9NY]

So, i guess an overflow will be put on the list of things to do! I can probably do that tomorrow after work, while i build up the sides one more level of stone.

 

[addy1]

It helps, I have a low spot that the water flows out and down our back slope. When we have a serious rain I can have a lot of water flowing out. The low spot is around a foot wide, covered with different sized rocks.

 

[Richardspond]

I just let mine be, water takes the path of least resistance and it will eventually drain out, leaving the pond nice and full. Mine drains out into one of my beds