It's not often that an 8' deep pond would lose half its water, but in the past one dry summer it was really bad. Now that 1/3 of the pond is covered with pads, will they cause more water to be lost other than evaporation due to many 90 degree days and little rain?
are you talking lily pads? If so, they shade the water column and slow mixing by blocking wind, allowing waters below to stay cooler. However I don’t know how it affects water loss as the surface where the leaves are can get relatively hot. I would guess less water loss than open water, but just a guess.
water lilys I thought the same thing about keeping water shaded below but worry about transpiration via the leaves. But I just found this:
Quote
Some may think that the pond plants are sucking up all the water. However, they drink a relatively small amount. In fact, if your pond has water lilies, they are reducing the amount of surface area and are actually reducing the amount of evaporation occurring.
Hope it's true. Hate to have to launch my row boat and start clipping. spring:
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/MswWuGQ.jpg)
