How to Find a Hole in the Rubber Liner of a Pond

On one hand having a pond is a serene and tranquil experience that provides both beauty and relaxation. On the other hand, they can be an absolute nightmare if you awake to one that is only half full and are confronted with the task of finding the source of the suddenly missing water. Fortunately a few simple steps can help ease the way to finding and patching the cause of your problem.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• towel
• squeeze bottle
• milk

1. Check around the perimeter of the pond to make sure that the line has not started to sag, which could cause water loss. If the liner is still in position, move on.

2. Let the pond sit for at least 2 days. This will give the water enough time to drop to the level of the leak. If it happens to rain, however, let it sit longer until you know that no water is being added.

3. Wipe around the edge of liner at the water level with the towel. Do this all around the pond to clean any algae or dirt from the liner to more easily expose a tear in the liner. Most ponds that have been established for any length of time will have quite a bit of this buildup, and it makes it much more difficult to find the leak.

4. Let the pond sit another day so that the algae settles, and the water remains clear. This will allow you to actually see the leak.

5. Search at the water line around the perimeter of the pond until the leak is found. It may be a very small hole, so you will have to inspect the liner very closely.

Tips & Warnings

• If the leak is very rapid, use a squeeze-type bottle of milk to find the leak by squirting the milk slowly around the edge until you can actually see where the milk flows through the liner.

References

• Watergarden.org