Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions best way to find a leak?

Take a container that has straight sides. Some will use a regular 5 gallon bucket. Fill it to the brim and set it on a level surface near the pond.

I'd place a yardstick in the pond and note where the water level is on the yardstick. I bought a yellow powder coated aluminum one from Lowe's that was very inexpensive and also bought a plastic 3' fence stake from TSC. I drove the fence stake into the pond bottom, then attached the yardstick to the stake. After a day or a week compare the water level drop in the bucket to the water level drop in the pond. If the 2 are comparable, then it's just evaporation. If the pond is markedly lower than the water in the bucket, then you got a problem.

I'd prefer to have the water at the top of the bucket. If it's a ways down in the bucket, then the wind blowing across the bucket won't be the same as what's blowing across the pond.

It's amazing what you think is a big drop in the level of the pond is really only a couple of inches if you don't have a measuring device in the water. I have both a yardstick and a 72" rule in my pond.