It’s perfectly normal for your backyard pond to lose some water. Along with evaporation, plants and animals love to help themselves to your water supply, leaving you with slightly less water, but not enough to worry about. These small amounts are typically replenished with rainfall. But if you begin to notice a significant amount of water loss, it might be time to inspect your pond liner and water features for leaks.
Torn Pond Liner
If your pond liner is torn, you have some work ahead of you. Minor tears and holes can be patched up with a pond liner repair kit. Significant damage may require you to replace the pond liner entirely. If you plan to repair you pond liner, you’ll need to drain the water, prime the tear, apply the appropriately trimmed patch, and let it cure. Make sure you are selecting a kit that coincides with the material your pond liner is made of: EPDM, PVC, Polyethylene, etc. Find more detailed instructions for how to fix a tear in your pond liner, here.
Low Edges
If your pond is brand new and you notice the water levels diminishing, you might have pond edges that are a bit too low. Take a look at the edges of your water features in addition to the perimeter of the pond. As the dirt that has been added around your water features settles, low spots may form, causing water to escape over the edge of the liner. Be on the lookout for wet mulch or muddy areas around the perimeter of your pond. If one of these areas are leaking, simply lift the liner up and push some soil or gravel under the low spot to raise the edge back up.
Damaged Water Feature
A damaged pond liner isn’t the only offender when it comes to water loss in your pond. Turn off your pond pump and wait a while. If the water levels stay the same you know that your pond liner and low edges aren’t to blame.
Your waterfalls, streams, out-of-pond filters or pumps, fountains and more can all be responsible for leaks that result in lower water levels. Rocks, debris and overgrown plants or algae in your filters or waterfalls can hinder the flow of water and cause spills.
Leaks in your plumbing could also be the culprit. Examine all valve assemblies and fittings, replacing when necessary. Inspect your pond skimmer and/or filtration system to ensure they’re clean and unobstructed.
If you are at a loss for where the source of water leakage is coming from, it might be time to call in the professionals. You’ve invested a lot of time and money into your pond and you don’t want it to be for nothing. Usually the source of a pond leak should be pretty easy to find and repair, without being too costly.