How to Find a Pond Leak

Danielle Dickinson

If you have ever experienced a leak in your pond you will know how time consuming and frustrating pinpointing the source of the leak can be! While all ponds will lose some water due to normal environmental issues such as evaporation through sun or wind and splash, major water loss is a significant problem.

The following steps should help make the task a little easier:

1. Turn off the pump and observe water levels

1. Does the water level continue to drop? If yes go to Step 3
2. Does the water level remain the same? If yes go to step 2

2. The leak is not in your base pond.

1. Inspect your plumbing, making sure that all joins and fastenings are tight and waterproof.
2. Ensure no plant matter is intruding into the creek/waterfall causing water to run along plant stems and out of the pond.
3. Check the positioning of your rocks / pebbles. They may have moved into the water, raising the water level thus causing water to spill out.
4. When surrounding garden area is dry check for wet patches, indicating leaks. Inspect closer around the source of any wet patches.
5. Check your creek / waterfall for a build-up of organic matter such as leaves, branches and twigs. Debris can cause dams thus raising the water level causing the water to spill out.
6. Check liner is still in its original position and has not dropped in height.

3. The leak is in your base pond.

1. Watch the water level closely until the water level is stable. Remove any fish and plants from the pond and store temporarily in a container original pond water if water level drops dangerously low.
2. When the water level is no longer dropping check very carefully around the water level. Some leaks will be obvious while others will be tiny little holes that may be difficult to see.
3. If you have a larger leak, try putting some milk into the water. The milk will cloud the water and move toward the direction of the leak. This is not always successful but is worth trying.

4.  Repair the leak.

1. Once you have located the leak you need to repair it. Use either:
2. Poly Pond Repair Kit or(ii)PVC Liner Repair Kit