Pond problem...

[Conner]

So I've had my pond running for a while now, and there are a bunch of feeder comets living in it. They are doing well, I see them regularly, and I've even fed them some just to make sure they beef up a little bit before the weather turns too cold.

The pond has been running fine, everything works like it should. The problem is that this past Friday, we had about 2-3" of rain in a very short time frame, and somehow water got under the pond liner. About 1/2-2/3 of the pond liner has lifted up from the bottom and pulled away from the sides, and it is filled with water underneath. Needless to say this is not good.

Is my only option to drain the pond, pull back the liner, and drain the water underneath? Could I just insert a hose down under the liner and drain the water out with a pump?

Would it make sense to just drain the pond anyways since winter is around the corner, or would it be best if I could get the water from under it and leave it running over winter?

 

[yogurt_21]

hmm what type of soil do you have? or was it just an exposed edge of the liner? odd that so much water could get under.

i'd say drain it just for the purpose of finding out what happened and fixing that.

 

[littlevic34]

drain it just to take a look

 

[Muske]

Hydrostatic pressure.

It also happens to lined ponds built on a low water table. The water should perculate into the soil, but could cause problems to the pond from uneven settling. If you can just pump the water out from underneath it do it. If not, you will have to drain it down a little so you can remove the water. If this is a common occurance when it rains, you can install a pressure relief valve in the bottom that will prevent future liner liftings.

Do you have any rocks or bolders on the liner? These will also hold down the liner and prevent any heaving.

 

[Conner]

Hydrostatic pressure.

It also happens to lined ponds built on a low water table. The water should perculate into the soil, but could cause problems to the pond from uneven settling. If you can just pump the water out from underneath it do it. If not, you will have to drain it down a little so you can remove the water. If this is a common occurance when it rains, you can install a pressure relief valve in the bottom that will prevent future liner liftings.

Do you have any rocks or bolders on the liner? These will also hold down the liner and prevent any heaving.

This is the first time this has happened with water getting under the liner and lifting it up. I do not have any gravel or rocks in the bottom, I think I will throw a layer of gravel down there once I get it fixed.

Does the pressure relief valve work by letting water underneath the line flow into the pond through the liner?

I think I need to re-level the overflow stream that I dug, as well as build more of a berm around the edges of the pond to make sure water flows more away from the pond than towards it. its just very frustrating... I think I may be able to pump the water out from under the liner, but I'm going to have to buy a new pump to do it. I've got an external pump, but for some reason I haven't been able to get it to work.

 

[Muske]

Pressure relief valve does allow water and/or gases to escape into the pond and then on it's way. The only problem is the pond would have to be drained completely to install, setting back the BB and cycling. A layer of gravel is a great idea once the problem is solved. I would place some boulders in their as well to add some mass and weight. Those can be placed in the bottom and smaller ones on the shelves away fromthe swimming area for the gars. If the space allows, def. berm up some soil and run the overflow farther away from the pond. The overflow may be sending water right under the liner if not plumbed away.

Sidenote. Did you get any plants for the bog?

 

[Conner]

Pressure relief valve does allow water and/or gases to escape into the pond and then on it's way. The only problem is the pond would have to be drained completely to install, setting back the BB and cycling. A layer of gravel is a great idea once the problem is solved. I would place some boulders in their as well to add some mass and weight. Those can be placed in the bottom and smaller ones on the shelves away fromthe swimming area for the gars. If the space allows, def. berm up some soil and run the overflow farther away from the pond. The overflow may be sending water right under the liner if not plumbed away.

Sidenote. Did you get any plants for the bog?

I haven't gotten any plants for the bog. I've had a few other things come up that prevented me from getting that done. I don't know if there are still any available, but when I go to pick up some rocks for the pond this week/weekend, I'll check. I did get a dedicated electrical box run for the pond, so I don't have to worry about extension cords or anything.

I think that the overflow may have been the reason for the liner lifting. It is sloped away from the pond, and seems to work well, but its the only thing that changed. Also, the liner only extends about 6 feet beyond the edge of the pond, and then the channel for the stream extends another 6 feet or so, until it drains into a lower area that leads out of my yard. I can't really slope it any more away from the pond unless I raise the level of the overflow at the pond, which I may do when I build the small berm.

I'm going to try to work on the pond tonight and any nice nights this week. But I think I'm going to have to buy a new pump to be able to drain the water from under the liner.