We have a 3/4 acre pond that is fed by a creek. At full pool, our pond is 10' deep in the middle. We enjoy very good bass and bluegill fishing. The overflow feeds a creek below our pond which ties into another, that travels along several farm properties. At times throughout drought season, all of these creeks are dry and our pond drops in depth to about 6 or 7' in the middle.

The "tile" overflow system (probably built in the 50's or 60"s) is broken. We fear it is cracked at or near the bottom. In the middle of the pond, we might be below 5' right now. Water is still pouring out. I have asked around and I have been told this will be a very expensive fix. It is money that we simply don't have. One person suggested dumping several bags of concrete where the overflow is. Not as a fix, simply a band- aid, so we can try to save our fish and figure out what to do next.

I fear that we are about to lose our pond. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Ed, welcome to Pond Boss. My disclaimer is that I know very little about the use of "tiles" as an overflow system.

I also feel that you are going to lose your pond. If you are right about the broken tile, it is like having a bucket with a hole in the bottom. If the pond drains, why would it be expensive to fix the one place or to replace the faulty tile?

Could you stop up the current overflow and replace it with a piece of PVC pipe through the dam at a higher point?

The tile overflow goes 20' or more (much deeper than pond depth) into the ground and comes out on the backside of the pond, dumping water into a creek.

So, are you suggesting letting it drain, plugging the old drain and basically "drilling" a hole through the pond for a new drain and abandoning the old one in place?

I can't stop it at this point, the bottom of our pond is very soft. Wading out to investigate further, means sinking 3 feet into the "muck". Right now, that might mean possibly calling 911 for rescue.

Yeah, I bet that stuff is pretty gooshey.

If the old drain is the problem, I would just plug it in some way. Then dig a hole from the top of the dam, a couple of feet down, and install a piece of plastic PVC with a leak excluder around the pipe. Do you have an overflow area in case of 100 year floods?

I second Daves suggestion. Do some searching for a siphon drain and I believe that's what he is talking about.

Scott, I'm just talking about a through the dam drain. That's what I have and what I see in about 95% of the ponds in my area.

O.K. Guv! I understand it now.

Thanks to the rains, we still have a pond. What I have learned is, from the top of our overflow pipe, it goes staight down 23' and makes a 90 turn towards the creek on the back side of our pond. When looking down into the overflow pipe, I can see the leak, it is right at the bottom of the pond which is currently 4' beneath the surface.

The overflow pipe has a 12" diameter. What I am thinking of, is to slide a 15" or 18" piece of pvc over the existing overflow. Cap it off at the top with something that will withstand a sledge hammer, and see how far I can pound it down. If I can get down far enough, the leak might stop. I can cut the top off at the same level as the current overflow pipe. Then we basically have the same over flow system that we have now.

I was able to paddle my floating dock out to the overflow. I have it tied up out there, so I have a stable place to work from.

Any thoughts on this? Does it make sense? or is it a waste of time and money?

Thanks,
Ed

Maybe you can line it with concrete like they do with chimneys? I am not sure that your plan will work.

I would remove the damaged tile when the pond is below the overflow. Clean the loose debris away then pour hydraulic cement down the damaged cracks. That stuff loves to fill in open spaces and sets fast and hard. Smooth out the top and replace the tile with a fortified thin set, make sure you use porcelain tile. Ceramic absorbs water and breaks when it freezes.

I too think that you will not get a good enough seal around that 90 degree turn where the leak is near. If the leak was further away and/or up from that spot it may have a chance. I think at the very least you would have to do what RAH says about sealing between the old and new down where the leak is.

I would look into a drain as DD1 suggest above to replace it. That would be the cheapest way to install a new drain. You could then try to plug this old one. You may not be succesfull in plugging the old one, and still have to drain all the water to tear out or seal the old one, but at least you could give it a shot and possible save your fish.

I think they are telling you the best way. Stop it up with concrete and install plastic drain across the dam. Even if you patched up your drain it will probably fail at another area really quick. Plenty of people including myself have had problems with gal. pipe. You can get a specical mix made at a cement plant that would do the same as Cody's fix. you will probably need 2 yds. Good Luck.

Here is an update.

We got extremely lucky to find David Beall of Outdorr Direction. He and his people drove 4 hours to get here, they had our pond troubles fixed in 2 days. They sealed the old drain with hydraulic concrete. Nothing is leaking now. They installed a new "siphon system overflow". It works great! The price was very reasonable and their work was GREAT!

We didn't have to wait for the pond to drain and we didn't lose all of our fish. Though, the bass were probably feasting on some blue gills due to low water levels and limited space.

Thanks to some rains, the pond is back to full pool again. We are fishing and paddling around the pond. My wife couldn't be happier! My life is easier now.

If anyone needs an overflow, has leaks or any pond problems, I would strongly reccomend giving David Beall at Outdoor Direction a call 706-672-1450 or 706-289-1874.

Now I need to re-stock some bluegills that were eaten.