Liners and leaks

Liners and leaks

I get many dozens of calls and e-mails yearly from folks who are panicked because they think their liner is leaking. Perhaps 1% of those calls are truly liner punctures or tears. And that can usually be traced to the family dog or a neighborhood raccoon. The rest of the time, the losing of water can be attributed to other things. The biggest culprit is the waterfall. Even if we start with a waterfall where all of the water being pumped over it is falling into the pond, invariably there is some settling of the rocks because of all that weight on the ground and a few drops of that waterfall water can sneak right off the back or the side of the fall. If you are losing water, turn the pump off, fill the pond up and watch it for 24 hours. If no water is lost, you know that somewhere between the pump and the waterfall your water is leaking out. A second culprit is wind. Some of you have fountains or water features that spray out water. If there is a wind and the fountain is turned on, water will blow out causing a drop in the water level of the pond. Probably one of the other main causes of water loss is splashing. The width of the water must be twice as wide as the water drop is high, eg. If the pond is 3’ wide, the water cannot drop from more than a height of 1.5 feet. If it does, no matter how slowly it drops (And I have seen it regulated to a trickle), some water will splash out. It only takes a few drops and the water level drops significantly.
If the pump is attached to plumbing fittings, check all of those fittings for leaks before calling for help. If the liner is penetrated in any way, with a skimmer device, an electrical connection, an overflow or level regulator, check those penetrations. No matter how good the caulking job was, sooner or later the seal will break and you will lose water. I recommend never penetration the side or bottom of the liner, no matter if it is flexible or rigid plastic, concrete or gunnite or CIM. No matter what, you can conceal the wires that must run from the pump more easily than you can make the inevitable repairs.
While I am on the subject of liners, I always choose flexible plastic or rubber. It is easier and lasts longer. Concrete always cracks. Yes, always!! The preformed shells can never be level, but even if they are leveled for a minute or so, they will be out of level shortly and will drive you nuts trying to keep the liner from showing. And if you are using a flexible liner NEVER try to attach two pieces together. Many folks try; no one has ever succeeded. If you wish to have an oversized piece, the manufacturer will happily seam two pieces together free of charge before they ship it to you.