How to Build a Water Garden and Waterfall

A water garden and waterfall is one way to add visual interest to a landscape. The sound of a backyard water feature can create a sense of calm and serenity right outside your door. You can build a water pond and waterfall with materials from a home improvement store and a garden center. This project may take a month to complete depending on the daily time you have to commit to it.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Spray paint
• 45-mil EPDM pond liner
• Water pump
• Plastic pond weir
• Large flat rocks
• Filtration system (optional)
• Wheelbarrow
• Tap water
• Water circulation pipe
• GFCI protected outlet
• Licensed electrician

Instructions

1. Map out water garden's location. Choose a place for the pond that you can easily enjoy, by a window or a patio where you can see it. Don't put it in the back corner of the yard out of view. If you place it under a tree, be prepared to regularly clean leaves from the pond. A sunny spot is best for water plants. Outline the shape of the pond with spray paint.

2. Call your utility company to make sure there are no buried utility lines in your chosen location. Use a shovel to dig out the shape of the pond by following the spray-painted line as a guide, digging just outside of the line. For ponds with fish, at least part of the pond should be at least 18-inches deep. Use the dirt you've removed as a berm for the pond and to create height for the waterfall. Haul away the remaining dirt with a wheelbarrow.

3. If you do not already have a ground fault circuit interrupter-protected outlet (GFCI), hire a licensed electrician to install one to power the pond water pump. Choose a pump that will circulate the pond's water once each hour. Install it away from where you'll build the waterfall. This will help increase the water circulation area. Install a water circulation pipe from the pump to the waterfall location.

4. Install a 45-mil EPDM liner, which is both strong and flexible. Choose a brand of liner that is safe for fish. Determine the size of the liner by measuring the length, width and depth of the hole you've dug for the pond. Take the depth measurement, multiply it by three and add it to the length and width. After putting in the liner, place large, flat rocks around the edge.

5. Use more large flat rocks to build up the height of the waterfall. Install a plastic pond weir at the top of the waterfall. A pond weir collects water sent by the pump through the water circulation pipe. Water travels over the lip of the weir, down the rocks and back into the pond.

6. Fill the pond with water. Wait a week before adding plants and fish. This will give the chemicals naturally found in tap water a chance to neutralize. Among the most common chemicals in water are chloroform and nitrates.

7. Add fish for every square foot of pond space. Goldfish are best for an outdoor pond because they require little maintenance. Cover one-third of the pond surface with water lilies for shade. Turn on the pond pump.

Tips & Warnings

• Make the pond larger than you originally planned. The pond will appear smaller if you stock it with fish.

References

• Reader's Digest: How to Build a Water Garden and Waterfall
• Pond Lady: How to Build a Waterfall
• Common Dreams: Public Data Show Chemicals in Tap Water