You’ve done it. You’ve built a beautiful and amazing pond in your backyard.
You’ve patted yourself on the back, gone and done a celebratory activity, and then you’ve gone and slept the sleep of the well-accomplished.
But then, when you woke up, you realized that your pond was a little bit emptier than it was when you went to bed.
And, as the days went by, you noticed that the water level was sinking lower and lower and lower—soon, you won’t have much of a pond left!
Don’t worry. This has happened to the best of us. Yes, the water level in your pond is lowering, but all is not lost.
Read on in this article to try and figure out why your pond is losing water and, once you’ve figured that out, it’ll be time to fix it.
Reasons Why Your Water Level Might Be Lowering
There are a number of reasons why you might be losing water in your pond, and some are direr than others.
However, figuring out the problem is the first step to solving the mystery, so let’s continue on.
Evaporation
In most cases, the cause of your lower-than-expected water level is going to come down to sheer evaporation. Your pond is outside and as such, it must suffer through the elements, two of which are sunlight and heat.
Even on the coldest day, you may find that, even without a lot of sun or warmth, your pond is still losing water.
Don’t worry! It’s all-natural.
This isn’t a sign that you’ve done anything wrong when it comes to your pond installation—and, even better, it’s possible to mitigate some of these effects.
For example, adding water lilies and other sorts of water plants can help to reduce how much water evaporates in a day.
Although you’ll have to deal with the amount of water that they “drink,” these sorts of plants also act as covers on the water and as such, work to keep the pond cool and protected from the sun.
If the water is cooled down, less of it will evaporate. Also, water lilies and the like look amazing and will go a long way towards beautifying your pond.
Also, in regards to evaporation, please note that the amount of water that may evaporate from your pond will vary depending on what part of the world you’re in and the climate of the place.
Blocked Filters and Waterfalls
It’s possible that the reason your water level is lowering so rapidly is that you’ve ended up with a blockage in one of your filters or water fillers.
Check to see if your filter is blocked up—and thus, not allowing the right amount of water to flow through it—or if there are branches or other bits of debris that are preventing these sorts of appliances from working as they should.
Untamed Foliage
If you’ve surrounded your pond with a lot of foliage and whatnot, you may be experiencing the result of some very thirsty plants.
If any of the plants are in contact with the pond water, they may be acting as sponges and sucking up water into the ground.
If this is the case, it’s time to cut back some of this foliage. Doing so will stop them from “drinking” the water.
You should also check to see if there are any sneaky, large roots that have grown within the folds of a flexible liner and set up shop to slurp up all your water.
Wind
Are you in a windy area?
If so, it can be that the water in your pond is getting picked up by the wind and swept away.
This may seem silly, but the force of the wind is nothing to sniff at; the wind might be the reason why you’re losing water so rapidly, and you might not even notice it.
If this is happening to you, you should build a windbreak out of stack pavers or thick stones with mortar between the layers to hold them in place.
Additionally, shrubs (that don’t come in contact with the water) might also help to serve as natural windbreaks.
Leaks
Unfortunately, if you’ve already checked the aforementioned things and the level of your pond water is still lowering . . . it might be time to consider that you might have a leak.
There’s no shame if you find there’s a problem with your installation that’s leading to the leaking.
We’re only human, and mistakes happen. Don’t worry and read on to learn about some of the ways to try and fix this issue.
One of the easiest ways to believe you might have a leak is if you’re constantly having to refill your pond over and over and over again, and your water bill is spiking.
Evaporation and the other issues mentioned above tend to occur at a steady rate, but leaking can ruin any sort of structure.
If you find that your water bill is fluctuating rapidly after your pond installation, you might have a leak.
Liner
One of the most common areas you might find leaking is that of the pond liner.
This is actually one of the best-case scenarios.
When the liner edge is lower than the water line—which typically occurs when the dirt beneath the liner shifts.
Check the liner material, location, and height, and fix it so that it’s no longer beneath the water level.
Automatic Fill Valves
You may have an automatic filler for convenience, but, if it does turn out that you might have a leak, one of the ways to check is to actually turn your automatic filler off.
If you continue to lose water at a faster rate than evaporation can answer for, you’ve discovered that you have a leak.
Plumbing
As unfortunate as it may seem, it might be possible that you’ve sprung a leak in your plumbing.
This might be the most difficult location to check, as your plumbing is typically going to be underground (and thus, hard to access).
However, if you find that there are areas in your backyard that are constantly wet when they really shouldn’t be, that might indicate that you have a leak underground.
Treatment
No matter the cause of the leakage, it’s best to have a professional/expert come to figure out what the problem is.
It may seem costly at the outset, but preventing your pond from leaking any further will save you that money in the long run—particularly when it comes to your water bill.
Stay Positive
No matter the reasons behind your lowering water level, it’s all possible to be fixed. Take heart that this is a situation where, once you’ve assessed the problem, you’ll be well on your way to the solution.