An outdoor water feature adds beauty and charm to your home. Whether you install a fountain, waterfall, or pond, this addition offers a calming space to gather and feel at peace.
But if you discover your water feature is leaking, the serenity you are looking for takes a backseat until you can solve the problem. Don’t worry. Understanding the leak will help you become fully operational in no time.
What Causes A Water Feature to Lose Water?
There are several signs that can point to potential problems with an outdoor water feature. You may go outside one day and notice the water level is lower than normal, or realize the ground surrounding it is soggy.
But the question is: why are you losing water? Here are some of the most common reasons you’ll discover:
- Evaporation: This is the most common reason water features lose water. This isn’t a cause for concern, but an important factor to be aware of.
- Low Edge: A low edge is a common problem causing water leakage in ponds. If the liner shifts, it no longer keeps water trapped in as it is designed to.
- Tear In the Liner: Even if your pond liner is properly in place, it is vulnerable to tears from foreign objects. Depending on the size of the tear, you could end up with a significant leak.
- Crack In the Basin: Fountains and waterfalls typically have a basin they draw water out of. Extreme changes in weather can cause them to crack over time, allowing water to leak out.
- Damaged Plumbing: Over time, the plumbing components of a water feature can become damaged and break down. Pipes and hoses are vulnerable to holes and need routine maintenance.
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How Do You Diagnose the Culprit?
If your water feature is losing more than an inch or two every week, or the ground around the water feature is constantly wet, you can rule out evaporation. This means you need some investigative skills to see if you can understand why you are leaking water.
- Perform a visual inspection of the edge of your pond. If the liner has shifted, or you find wet soil around streams or waterfalls, this could be your problem.
- To test a pond for leaks, turn off all pumps running waterfalls and fountains. With the water at rest, observe the level over the next 12 to 24 hours, periodically noting your observations. The pond’s liner may have a leak if it is losing water when it is still.
- To diagnose a crack in the basin, perform the same test you did for the pond. Allow the water in the basin to sit still and observe what happens. The damage may be hard to find since even a hairline crack can lose a lot of water. However, if you notice bubbling, you may find the crack as well.
- Plumbing leaks can be harder to detect. Since most plumbing systems are buried, it’s not an easy visual inspection to make. But, if you are experiencing wetness around the water feature, and none of the other troubleshooting methods yielded results, you may need to get the plumbing looked at.
What If You are Having Trouble Locating the Problem?
Diagnosing water loss can be very difficult. Not only is it time-consuming, but it can take a trained eye. If you misdiagnose the problem, it could also lead to major, expensive repairs in the long run.
That’s why it’s important to find water leak detection services near you. Expert technicians will perform a head-to-toe inspection of your water feature to locate the leak and fix it in a timely manner.
Not only will they check for leaks in the structure of your water feature, but they know how to safely detect plumbing problems as well.
Following their assessment, they will promptly repair or replace any damaged components so your water feature will return to the beautiful focal point it is intended to be.
To prevent minor problems, keep ponds clear of debris. Also, if you are expecting a hard freeze, turn off the pumps to your waterfall or fountain, and drain your basin. Expanding water can put pressure on the basin and cause cracks.
