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FAQs on Pond Repair: Seepage... Slow Leaks

Related Articles: Pond Repair WorkLiners for Ponds

Related FAQs: Water Feature Repairs 1 Water Feature Repairs 2, Water Feature Repairs 3, More specifically: Leaks/Leaking, Earthen Pond Repairs, Waterfall Repairs, Electrical Problems, Fountain Repairs, Faux Rock Repairs, Crack Repairs... & Foundation CoatingsLiner Pond Repairs, Liners in Pond Construction

 

Aquatic Gardens

Ponds, Streams, Waterfalls & Fountains:
Volume 1. Design & Construction
Volume 2. Maintenance, Stocking, Examples

V. 1 Print and eBook on Amazon
V. 2 Print and eBook on Amazon
 

by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Water feature water basin seeping 6/3/14
Hello Wet Web Media!
<Howsit Tom?>
I have a waterfall feature with a water basin that holds 50 gallons of water or so. It was built 10 years ago or so and works fine, but now the sealer/lining is seeping to where I have to keep refilling the water once or twice a week. In reading your posts, my plan is to buy the Henry 4.75-Gal. 107 Asphalt Emulsion and spread that all over the area where water stands.
Will that work?
<May be... Allow it (the emulsion) to dry a few days... IF this doesn't "do it"; I'd look to pouring a rather liquid colored concrete slurry in the nooks and crannies of the fall "trough". You've read through WWM re waterfall repair I hope/trust. Bob Fenner>
Thanks!
Tom
Re: Water feature water basin seeping 6/4/14

Thanks for the quick response. It¹s not the waterfall portion that is the problem. It¹s really a water wall that drips into a manageable basin, almost like a concrete tubŠ and that concrete tub (which has a decomposing thick
garbage bag-like liner)
is the problem. I also saw you mention Thoroseal. Is that better for my needs than the Henry 4.75-Gal. 107 Asphalt Emulsion?
Thanks again!
Tom
<Different application... won't likely adhere to PE. BobF>

Wicking EDPM liner      5/15/14
Aloha Bob (or whoever reads this),
<Howsit Tor?>
I have an above ground fountain that we put in as the centerpiece of a garden of raised beds. Construction is 24" high, 9' diameter ring of vertical Ipe 1x6 held with three hurricane strap bands. Within that is an EDPM liner with concrete bottom on top of liner. It's been up for a while and it looks as elegant as we hoped.
I went around and pleated the liner at each joint in the Ipe (an elegant way to deal with the four foot larger circle of liner than pond diameter), but we are having trouble with small rivulets coming up an inch or more, and working through the pleats to come down outside the fountain.
<Ah yes... sp3 hybridized... water... capillating if you will>

The fountain has been going down 1-2"/week, but we've just been using plumbing strap around the edge to hold the liner in place, and it seems to make the rivulets more numerous, if not slightly bigger as well.
I'm thinking towards sealing the pleats down with something, but it would be really nice to have something that could be injected into the wet pleat, rather than having to take the band off to dry out the pleats. Any suggestions as to the best method of sealing this?
<Mmm; I would take the water out, dry thoroughly. It's hard enough to get anything to stick to EPDM...>
Thank you,
Tor
<Do write back re your experience/s please. Bob Fenner>
Re: Wicking EDPM liner    5/16/14

Aloha Bob,
Thanks for your reply.
<Welcome Tor>
> I'm thinking towards sealing the pleats down with something, but it
> would be really nice to have something that could be injected into
> the wet pleat, rather than having to take the band off to dry out
> the pleats. Any suggestions as to the best method of sealing this?
> <Mmm; I would take the water out, dry thoroughly. It's hard enough
> to get anything to stick to EPDM...>
I kind of thought as much. Do you think there is a silicone or other caulk that would work, or would I be better off to open the pleat, put a piece of seam tape over the entire open width, and close the tape back on itself?
<Yes; the tape is the very best possibility... As stated previously, little sticks/welds to EPDM directly>
It is at least outside, but even with Ipe not having water dripping down is a good thing.
Thanks,
Tor
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Stream over wet ground
Greetings
<Hello>
I read over the FAQs on your site but did not find an answer to my unique problem.
We have built a stream and series of small ponds on a area measuring approximately 22 ft x 22 ft. It looks great, but the problem is that it is built over wet ground. When we were in the construction phase we would be digging the stream bed and water would bubble up from underground.
<Oh oh>
I tried to install a drainage system, but now find that water is collecting beneath the ponds and when we turned it off to repair a leak we also found that ground water leaked into the ponds themselves.
<Yikes...>
We are considering cementing the entire thing in to be sure we have a closed system and leaving the ground water to find drainage as it would have naturally, but wanted to get an expert's opinion.
What do you think?
<Best to do what you state... if at all possible, bringing up/raising the liner above grade... attaching to stakes, the new concrete berm... See WWM re: http://wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/linerspdconst.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Thanks
re: Stream over wet ground   9/7/11

Thanks so much for your prompt reply.
<Yes>
Is there any other material other than cement that would also work?
<?Yes... liner over what you have in place... See where you've been referred previously. BobF>

Leaking pond - am I hurting my fish refilling so often? 8/28/05 Hi, <Hello there> We've cleaned out and restocked a pond in our new house. It's approx.  10feet by 5feet, and 3feet deep. It has a top level which waterfalls down to the larger lower level. We've put in a pump for the waterfall and a filter, loads of plants and have 2 happy little goldfish. Only problem is we have a slow leak in the liner somewhere as the outer  wall (stone and mortar) is constantly wet and we're losing 3 - 4 inches a week.   <Mmm... perhaps capillatory in nature... hard to fix...> We've tried emptying the pond and found a tiny hole, which we repaired with a cycle repair kit on the advice of our local water centre. But either that didn't  work or there's more holes! <Or just a "damp" area twixt the liner and up...> Anyway, time is short at the mo due to work, so we've just been refilling  every few days and as there's no time to reline it this year, that's our only  option - but is it harming my fish????? <Mmm, not likely... in fact, replacing 3-4 inches per week of depth in a volume of this size is likely very helpful> Very quick 2nd question, sorry - one of my goldfish seems to chase the  other smaller one a lot. <Happens> At first I thought they were playing, but today I  noticed light patches on the rear sides of the one that's being chased, where  the nose of the chaser rubs his skin. Is this normal behaviour, are they  fighting, playing or even mating??? <Mostly the latter, the middle as practice... I would add a few more goldfish to diffuse the aggression here> Thanks, Allison Franklin (UK novice pond keeper) <Welcome, Bob Fenner, old-timer>

Seeping pond help!  Last year we dug this part of the pond and had a liner in it.  This year we added to the size of the pond, removed the liner, and concreted the whole thing. <I wish, and I bet you'll agree, that you'd just added to the existing liner rather than remove it... This is the proscribed method... and what we (our businesses used to fabricate liners for this purpose, install them...> used to do.>   The small part is app. 3--3 1/2 feet deep.  I let the concrete cure, then I have put 2 thick coats of a masonry waterproofing on, let cure for the recommended 2 weeks.  I fill up this part, which in turn flows over the side rocks into the larger part.  When this is filled (the small part), within 11-12 hours, the water has seeped down to about 1 foot in the bottom.  I can not find any active leaks and do not know where the water is going. As you can see the pond is dug in red clay as I live in East Texas where this type of soil is pretty much predominant. <I'll trade with you for our "soil" here in this part of Southern California... which is about 1/3 clay, 1/3 boulders... and all back-breaking to dig in... The leak problem... I would start with pressure-testing your plumbing. Do you know how to do this? It might be more economical to hire someone (likely in the swimming pool plumbing biz) rather than buying your own test gear... Next, and maybe with the same folks help, add a dye to the water, fill up the system and use a colorimeter or more fancy spectrophotometer to try and detect where the water is exiting... Do check around boulders that may penetrate the apparent basins here (does the water slow or stop seeping at some level?). At the very worst, do look into (posted on www.WetWebMedia.com under the Pond Index/Section) how to effect a repair of your current system with the placement, yes, of a liner over the existing work. Good hunting! Bob Fenner>

Water Seepage Stops Pond! >Dear crew, >>Dear Holden.  >I have a started digging a pond that is 13' by 8'.  >>Wow, all by yourself? My back couldn't let me do that! >I dug to 30" with no problems, so I proceeded to dig to 36".  >>Cool. >Then I went to bed, I came back out the next morning to find that the bottom 6" of the pond were filled with ground water.  >>Uh oh.. now there's a problem I've never seen out here! (So Cal) >What can I do to fix this? I pumped it out, but I know it will fill again.  >>That's a tough one, I think it depends on how fast it refills. >Can I just pump it out and then put the liner in and fill it fast so that the water just pushes it down?  >>That sounds like an idea that might work, but I'd consult an geological engineer or similar to know for sure. >Can I create a new bottom of concrete?  >>I wouldn't place anything permanent like that without talking to someone. How about calling a few local general contractors? >Pea gravel?  >>That could work well as a "sink" of sorts, but again, I'd strongly suggest talking to someone in your area who's likely done similar work. There may even be code issues you should be aware of because of the ground water being so high. >Any ideas are appreciated.  Thanks, Holden  >>Sorry I can't be more definitive for you, Holden, but I wouldn't feel right trying to give you an answer that would really be a guess. Marina 

Leaking Pond Hello, I put in a backyard pond a few months ago and have since been experiencing a leaking problem. The pond will leak water down to 3 3/4" and then stop. I have looked around the pond edge and seen nothing. I read to trying pouring milk along the edge to find the leak. . . nothing. I am now stumped. I know that there is a leak, but cant find where. The liner is 40mil EPDM rubber. Any suggestions???? <Yes... and bear with me, as this may sound strange (now). What you may well be experiencing is a capillation phenomenon here. The outer edge of the liner can "wick" out this much water by "drawing it up" out of the system due to a continuous wet surface between the outside part of the liner and the part inside/making up the pond. Do check around the edge and drain any water puddling along there, even very moist landscape should be moved away from the liner edge. Bob Fenner> Asa Kelly

Aquatic Gardens

Ponds, Streams, Waterfalls & Fountains:
Volume 1. Design & Construction
Volume 2. Maintenance, Stocking, Examples

V. 1 Print and eBook on Amazon
V. 2 Print and eBook on Amazon
 

by Robert (Bob) Fenner
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