AboutJonathan Cauble Expertise I can answer all questions relating to outdoor water gardens. Anything from fish & plant health, water chemistry, and pond construction to equipment recommendations.
Experience I worked in a water garden specialty store for three years as assistant manager. I am also founder and president of Aquatech, LLC Aquarium Services of Virginia. I have personally troubleshooted over 100 ponds and countless aquariums.
Question QUESTION: I recently put in a small pond off of a new brick paver patio. The water runs off the patio into the yard and pond. It has been raining her for a week and I am the low point in the neighborhood. Everyone drains into my yard and into the city drain system between me and the next door neighbor. This afternoon I found the liner floating up in the center and the pump was out of the water....there is water under the liner. I have had no leaks before this and it happened quickly in a matter of 5 hours. I have had drainage problems in my yard before and had a drain system put in to drain water pooling in my yard. I have not been able to check for hole but I can't see how I could have gotten one since I had no problems before today. It is a high quality new 20 year guarantee PVC liner. Any suggestions on what could be happening. I have 3/4 of a ton of rock all around the pond and one edge touches the brick pavers with rock next to it.
ANSWER: This happens when your water table is higher than average and especially when the ground is extremely saturated.
The ground water is higher than the ground level of the bottom of the pond and is pushing it above it itself due to the liner's buoyancy.
Try to find a diagram of this occurrence online.
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QUESTION: Is there a solution for this problem? I am sure this will happen again in the spring when the snow melts.
Answer I'd have to see the situation with my own eyes to decide if it were fixable through any simple means.
You could always dig the pond up, fill the hold, and remake it above ground. You could either use wood or cinder blocks as the easiest-to-work-with supports. Look for some pictures of above-ground ponds and see if you like it.
