Repairs & Leak Detection

We suggest starting with the most likely causes - leaky plumbing connections – check the filtration system, UVs, skimmers, anything that you have that has water passing through it!  During freezing conditions, ice expands in the pipes and may have caused connections to pop, to prevent this in the future, keep your feature running all year round.

A low edge is where the liner is lower than the water level. Simply start looking for any suspect low edges which could be wetter. Settling at the edge of the pond or water feature is one of the most common causes of a leak, especially in a new pond as everything relaxes into place. These can be very small & difficult to locate.

Low edges could be anywhere around the pond but typically they are seen around the stream/ water fall areas where settling is likely to have occurred normally after a few heavy spells of rain. *Please be aware that settling is only natural as it generally happen in areas that are usually built up during the construction phase, from the excess soil from the ground works; therefore can be prone to settling.*

 I imagine you have already strolled around with hands on hips trying to see what is going on, this time go extra slow paced, carefully inspect the edges. Firstly start with the pond, walking the perimeter, then carefully look over the water fall stream area. As the soil starts to settle it can create a lower spot and in turn dropping the liner slightly letting water escape. Keep a look out for wetter areas of soil, or top dressings like bark or gravel, it could even be a really sodden area. If you are successful with your investigations and you notice a lower area, simply lift the liner if possible and push some soil under; raising up the edge. Before you jump with joy, and say problem solved continue to carry on looking to ensure you have not missed anywhere!

There are a couple of other possibilities, could it be water splashing out of your waterfall?

The fix: A splash leak is as simple as slightly re-jigging and adjusting the stones in the area you think is the cause of the excess splashing.

This will hopefully contain and or redirect the water stopping your splash leak, cheap and easy way to solve with a little knowledge...

OR in some cases it could be water travelling underneath the slip stone (the stone before it enters the pond) and back underneath to soil.

If the area has not be prepared properly and insufficient liner used, water could go back on the direction of the waterfall and percolate into the adjacent soil.

For clay bottomed ponds, think about what the trees and plants are doing around the pond, in hot summers, they will be absorbing more water from the ground and this may be affecting your water level.

If you have got this far then I am sorry to say that you most likely have a hole in your pond liner.

A wise man once said to me, looking for a hole in a liner is like trying to find a needle in a haystack... but with leaky liners you don’t actually know how many holes you are looking for!

Unless it is a leak caused by an obvious accident such as a slipped gardening fork, a leak is normally telling you that your pond is coming to the end of its life. Even if you spend money trying to repair it, more will soon appear and it is no longer cost effective and it is probably time to think about rebuilding your pond to create the water feature your garden deserves.