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Why Is My Pond Losing Water?

    Nobody wants to see their water level drop lower and lower each time they check on their pond. Luckily, most causes of water loss are fairly easy to repair.

    Pin-pointing the Cause

    If you feel like you’re losing more water than you should be, try running what what’s known as the 24-Hour Test to find the source of the problem.

    • Unplug the pump.
    • Fill the pond to the full level and take a picture.
    • Leave the pond sitting at a full level without the waterfall running for 24 hours.
    • Note the water level after the 24 hours. Take a picture.

    If the water goes down, then we know there’s probably a problem with the liner.

    If the water level doesn’t change and the water loss only occurs when the waterfall is running, then the issue is most likely in the stream, waterfall and/or plumbing.

    Liner Damage

    Finding a hole in pond liner is like looking for a needle in a haystack. That’s why, when we fix leaks for our customers, we typically replace the entire liner instead of going through the time-consuming (and expensive) process of trying to find and repair a hole.

    A liner replacement is a relatively simple operation that can usually be accomplished in a single day.

    Other Causes

    You’re more likely to lose water through your stream or waterfall than you are to lose it from your pond. And the issue often has nothing to do with a tear in your liner.

    Here are a few other reasons you might be losing water from your stream or waterfall:

    • Evaporation: You might lose a few inches of water a day during the summer, especially if you have a large or particularly splashy waterfall. Just top off the pond with water from a garden hose as-needed (and keep a bottle of Pond Detoxifier on-hand in case you accidentally overfill the pond).
    • Debris build-up: The No. 1 cause of apparent stream leaks is debris build-up at the top of a waterfall. Dead leaves, sticks and other gunk form a kind of dam until the water rises up and out of your stream. Fixing your water loss issues is often a simple matter of removing the debris.
    • Pushed-down liner: Walk the length of your stream and look for sections of liner where the top edge seems to sit lower than it should. Your liner might have slipped where somebody stepped on it or heavy rains washed away the surrounding soil.