Pond has a leak ! What to do ?

[Brian L]

The garden pond must be 10 years old at least, we moved here three years ago. It is heart shaped, about 3-4m diameter. The liner is held under granite pavers all around the edge.
It is now dropping the level by 2/3 inches per day and I keep having to top it up as it has goldfish and plants etc in it.
What can I do ?
Is the only option to get someone in to remove all the pavers from the lip and empty the pond, saving as much as possible, and then have a new liner put in ?
Any advice appreciated.
Cheers
Brian.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

Couple of questions: what size is the pond (gallons, dimensions), and do you have a waterfall?

Pictures might be helpful.

 

[Brian L]

Hi and thanks for such a quick response.
Pond is heart shaped, approx 3m x 4m, rubber ?? liner. No idea of capacity, deepest part is about 30 inches.
Yes there is a waterfall but that is not causing water to 'spill' out, I have checked. There is a filter on the bank under some bushes but that is all watertight.
I have topped up again and will now see how much it drops in 24 hrs. This might got give me an idea of the scale of the problem.
Cheers
Brian.

 

[Mmathis]

@Brian L Most leaks happen somewhere along a path to and from the filter/pump. It’s usually either a loose / broken connection or water is being diverted somewhere along that path. Also, here in the US, most of us are having problems related to water evaporation right now. Smaller ponds tend to be more of an issue than larger ponds (but yours doesn’t sound too small). Another issue can be thirsty plants!

Top off the pond, then turn off the waterfall — leave it off and see what the water level does. Usually, if the water level doesn’t move with the pump off, then the “leak” is somewhere along the tubing or the waterfall. If the level still goes down with the pump off, wait and see at what level it stops. If it’s a leak, then it will be where the water stops.

Also, look for wet spots around the pond.

 

[Brian L]

Thanks Turtlemommy, I will follow that advice and see what the result is.
Cheers
Brian.

 

[Mmathis]

Thanks Turtlemommy, I will follow that advice and see what the result is.
Cheers
Brian.

Let us know what you find! Almost everyone has had at least 1 leak, at one time or another.

 

[poconojoe]

Agree.
9 times out of 10 the leak is either in the exterior plumbing or the waterfall. Mostly the waterfall is the culprit. If a waterfall is built correctly, there will be a concave shaped liner under the rocks that is pitched toward the pond. Any water that finds it's way between or around the rocks can only return to the pond.

I have all my plumbing within the pond. If there's ever a leak, it would just leak into the pond.

Of course, you might actually have a hole in the pond's liner. Leaks like that can be very difficult to locate.

Mmathis gave great advice.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

Good advice above, first thing I do is turn off waterfalls, pumps etc. See if the pond keeps dropping.

 

[j.w]

@Brian L
Yep agree about the answers already provided. Let it go down to as far as it goes and check around that level for holes.

 

[Mmathis]

@Tincan If you are having a problem, you might get a better response if you started a separate thread.

 

[Brian L]

24 hrs later and GOOD NEWS.
The two pumps and filter were all turned off as suggested and pond topped up to a marked level. After 24 hrs there has been no negligible drop in level and a much closer examination of the area around the waterfall points to that being the problem. Too much new plant and moss growth meant that the flow was not going cleanly into the pond but some being directed into the surrounding ground. I didn't realise this until a much closer look and have now cleared away.
I'll give it another 24 hrs just to be sure and then have a staggered restart of the water flow.
I feel much happier !
Many thanks all.
Cheers
Brian.