Yes, that's what I'm tempted to do. My only concern is that the pond is incredibly healthy with a fantastic crop of bass and bluegill. We can regularly pull 4-5 pounds out of this pond with the occasional bass pushing closer to 8-9#. It would be a devastating loss if the pond were to suddenly go dry. And if that pipe were to rupture near the bottom, it wouldn't take long. Maybe a day or two and that pond would be drained.

I'll research siphons. My only beef with the pond is that the drain pipe skims off the warm water when it starts to overflow and the pond gets quite chilly for swimming even in the heat of summer. If it could pull water from 6-7' down that problem would be solved. Although I guess a warmer pond might change up the chemistry/habitat in ways I might not expect.