Discovering a leak in your cherished fish or koi pond can be a source of frustration for homeowners in Charlotte, North Carolina. In this blog post, we’ll address the common headaches associated with pond leaks and provide a concise yet effective guide to pinpointing and repairing them. Let’s dive into the solutions, ensuring your pond remains a haven of tranquility for both you and your aquatic companions.
If you would like a step by step process for finding a leak please check out our Complete Leak Detection Process which includes 10 steps to finding a leak in a pond or water feature.
How To know If My Pond Is Leaking or Evaporation?
The first step in determining if your pond is leaking is to evaluate the current state of your pond or water feature. A lot of times a puddle of water in your backyard will lead you to believe your pond is the culprit but this is not always the case. First to determine if your pond is leaking, it is important to ask yourself some questions and determine if the puddle of water in your yard is coming from the pond or from a different source such as an irrigation leak.
How often are you filling up your pond?
- If the answer is more then once a week there is a good chance you have a leak.
- If you are filling up your pond hardly ever or less twice a month it is not leaking and most likely the water loss is due to splash or evaporation.
How long are you leaving the hose filling the pond?
- If while filling your pond you are leaving your hose on for more a couple minutes and you are doing this consistently you have a leak.
- You can roughly determine the amount of water you are losing by measuring the amount of time the hose is left on while filling the pond. Fill the pond up to normal operating level and mark it. 24 hours later once the pond has dropped measure the amount of time you have to leave the hose running to reach the same mark. This will help you determine how much water you are losing in a day.
After Determining You Do Have A Leak…
After determining you do have a leak and measuring roughly how much water you have lost in a 24 hour period, it is time to start asking yourself a few more questions.
Has the amount of times you needed to add water increased recently?
- Think back to the time you noticed having to fill the pond more and think if any events happened near the pond that may have caused damaged to the liner. Such as construction on a roof or planting a tree.
- If you recently have done some planting around the edge of the water feature check those spots to see if you may have damaged the liner.
- If you started loosing water after a big storm in the Fall time make sure that the stream is free and clear of any leafs or debris that may be damming up the stream causing the water level to rise and escape outside the liner.
Does The Pond Leak If The Waterfall is not running?
It is important to eliminate sections of the water feature from being the problem if possible follow these steps to narrow down the location of your leak.
- Shut off your pump to your waterfall and allow the water in the stream to fully drain into the bottom pond.
- Add an aerator to the pond if needed to keep your koi or fish supplied with oxygen.
- Fill The pond to the normal operating height and mark the water level.
- Let the pond sit for 24-48 hours with no rain.
- If the pond water level has not dropped you can eliminate the pond itself from leaking. You can now direct your search to the waterfall/stream and plumbing.
- If the pond water level has dropped continue to let it drop until it stabalized for 24hrs. Once stabalized search the liner at water level for a hole in the liner. The hole should be located at the water level. Once you find the hole you can Patch it.
How To Patch A Pond Liner
Tips For Finding A Pond Leak
- Experts say 95% of leaks occur in the waterfall stream area.
- Keep in mind there may be more then one leak.
- If you have multiple ponds connected to each other the water level will drop in the bottom pond. This does not necessarily mean the leak is occuring in the bottom pond.
- If you find a wet spot outside the liner you can usually track the water uphill to the source.
- Leaks can be difficult to find consider contacting a professional to help you find the leak.