Troubleshooting and fixing Backyard Pond Leaks

HAPPY MONDAY!!! Maybe your pond already looks like the photo above or you're getting ready to shut it down, however, today we’re going to talk about leak detection in your Central Pennsylvania water feature--- which is important to trouble shoot NOW before the temperatures get too cold, causing hoses to freeze.

Slight fluctuations in your watergarden pond are normal – evaporation and splashing can cause your waterfall or pond to lose up to one (1) inch a day. Large drops in water level, however, is a pretty good indicator that something else is going on. There are 3 areas that the leak issue can be found in:
                              Pond, Piping, or Waterfall.
Luckily, leak detection is simply a series of trouble shooting steps that we’re going to walk you through! The Dreamscapes Team uses these steps faithfully during every leak call we get.

Narrow Down Where Leak Is:

A plumbing leak could be obvious before troubleshooting the pond/waterfall. If you have saturated mulch around the filtration boxes or around the perimeter of the pond, check there first! If obviously saturated mulch is not present, follow the steps below:
Step One: Fill your pond up to a normal level.
Step Two: Turn off your pump
Step Three: Wait 12 – 24 hours and check the water level.
Step Four: Depends on if the water level continued to drop or stayed the same.

Pond Leaks

If the water drops past an initial inch, the leak is in your pond. At this point, you want to let the pond continue to lose water until it stops because it will eventually find the hole and stop dropping. This is important to troubleshoot in the fall because of not knowing where hole is. In the unlucky case that the hole was in the very bottom of the pond, imagine adding water to the pond when the hoses freeze.

If the water level falls right at the line where the screws and gromets are on the skimmer  box, double check to see if the screws have rusted and disintegrated. If the screws are intact, move a few rocks around the front checking for obvious tears or chew holes and slide your hand behind the liner checking for wet soil indicating that the faceplate silicone has dried out. Remove the faceplate, clean the old silicone off the liner, and refer to your skimmer instruction manual for the proper way to seal the faceplate to the skimmer.

No issues with the above items? You can concentrate your search around the perimeter of the water level by removing any rocks, checking the pond liner for a puncture or hole. If the water level continues to drop to 6"-8" from the bottom, please be advised that it would be wise to remove the fish into holding tanks at this point in order to not compromise their safety. A holding tank should have aeration and a net over top to not only prevent predator attacks but to also prevent curious fish from jumping out. Once found, you can patch the leak with a liner patch kit. You can replace your rocks once the patch has finished sealing.

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Waterfall Leaks

If the water level stayed the same in Step Three, your problem might lie in the waterfall.

Waterfall leaks can be caused by:
-low liner,
-splashing,
-obstruction or
-chew holes/liner tears.




Low liner -- found around a waterfall's edge. As dirt around the stream or waterfall settles, it can create low liner spots that may cause water to escape over the liner’s edge. This can be easily found by looking for wet mulch or muddy areas around the edges of your stream or waterfall. If you find the low spot, lift up the liner and backfill the liner area with soil to raise the edge and contain the water.
“Splash leak” – one that’s caused by water splashing out of the water feature, can be easily remedied by moving rocks in the area to redirect the water back into your feature.
Obstructions -- in your stream and waterfall caused by excessive plant or algae growth can restrict and divert water flow.
Chew Holes -- harder to find, chew holes can be anywhere inside the waterfall length/width and requires the moving of rocks. We set up test pipes in order to work in 2 foot increments starting at the bottom of the waterfall. Move the test pipe up another 2 feet after 24 hours has passed where the water level has not changed. When water level has dropped, begin lifting rocks in that 2 foot section. You can patch the hole with a liner patch kit and replace the rocks once the patch has finished sealing.

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Plumbing Leaks

Finally, if none of these solutions work, it’s time to check the pipe, plumbing fittings, and pump connections.

The pipe runs along the outside of the pond and usually saturates the mulch if there is a significant leak like in the picture to the right. A cracked pipe could result in the loss of inches and inches of water in an hour.

The connections to the filtration system could also saturate the mulch. Check all three areas for saturated mulch before digging up/exposing connections and piping. If it is a SLOW LEAK...it may not have saturated the mulch. Dig'em up and  tighten/replace necessary components if found.

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Now What???

As mentioned above---you certainly want to have troubleshooted the leak to know the location before the outside temperatures get too cold, freezing the hoses. If you've narrowed the leak to the waterfall--no rush! That can be addressed in the Spring upon opening. A hole in the bottom of the pond, however, could be fatal for the fish come mid-winter.

Let the experts handle your leaky mess for you! Dreamscapes has a full service maintenance program that travels all over the Lebanon, Lancaster and Dauphin County areas. We also carry a full line of pond supplies from water treatments and fish medications to pond pumps, heaters, fountains, plants and fish! Tadpoles and snails are also available at our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania seasonally while supplies last from May-August.  If you think you need it, we have it!

Retail Hours:  April 5th-October 27th 2018:
                           Monday-Wednesday: By Appt
                           Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm
                           Saturday: 9am-12pm
                     October 28th-April 2019: HOURS BY APPT


Contact Us
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | info@dreamscapeswatergardens.com

Dreamscapes Watergardens services koi ponds and waterfalls in the city of Lebanon, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Cornwall, Fredericksburg, Indiantown Gap, Jonestown, Kleinfeltersville, Mount Gretna, Myerstown, Newmanstown Palmyra, Quentin, Reistville, Richland, Schaefferstown of Pennsylvania, PA