Not sure if this is the right area but here goes. I still have some leakage in my larger pond and I have a few springs around my property. What I would like to do is pour a dye or chemical in the pond and test to see if any traces are present in any of the springs. This might help in determining which way my water is going. I don't think it will be enough to just go by sight. That is why I want to be able to trace down to the smallest levels. Does anyone know of anything that would work? I tested with a pool tester for ph levels and they aren't even close but if only a little pond water is making it to the spring it might not raise it much. Appreciate any advice.

Jason,

We use iodine (added as sodium iodine) as a conservative (does not break down), mobile (does not get hung up on soils) tracer in environmental projects. Downside is you would be adding iodine in parts per million concentration, so you need to take samples of the downstream water and send to an analytical lab to measure the low concentrations. Not difficult but there's a bit of a cost. Other option might be a dye. We use dyes from brightdyes.com for tracers, although dye might get lost during migration through aquifer soils.

Dale

Thanks Hobby. Sent you a pm to see if you had any more info on the iodine. I cant seem to find much info on the net. Just a few studies on its effectiveness, which was all good. Thanks again.