Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Water chemistry High TDS Well

I have a 1/2 acre pond about 500’ down hill from our house. This pond was designed to be filled by runoff, assuming we get rain. The last 3 years we have been experiencing lower than normal precipitation so having a full pond is very rare. I had a 120’ deep well dug to assist is keeping up with evaporation. Unfortunately after a year of using this well, 3000 gallons a day, I tested my TDS from the well which is around 2300 ppm. My pond is around 2000 ppm. We sit on a ancient coral reef apparently so limestone is found everywhere but I think the high TDS is from salinity. I’m getting a refractometer to test this theory. Since my discovery I’ve stopped using the well. My home well is also 2300 ppm so we don’t use it much either. We utilize a rural water coop for our house water. My question is, how can I soften my well output so I can continue to top off my pond? I’ve tried filtering thru a barrel of peat moss but it had no affect. We use a water softener in the house but 3000 gpd is more than a softener I can afford can handle. Any ideas?

Given the quantity of water needed, I am reluctant to suggest anything. The only beneficial way to soften the water is by distillation ... any other means will just be a replacement of one ion for another and that may be more harmful to the pond life than untreated water. The cure you need is a deluge to flush the pond. 3000 gallons a day is 0.221 inches a day in 1/2 acre. That may very well be the evaporation rate so if the level is steady in a 1/2 acre pond with that influx ... the pond appears to have very low filtration. You need a gully washer to flush things out.

I think Hatch makes a pocket pen tester for salinity. Yes they do, around $120 on Amazon. There are cheaper imports there too.

This pond is 3 years old and it just filled up for the first time this March. We’re in a hellish desert vortex while everyone all around us gets plenty. A deluge would be wonderful but I’m not going to count on that. Most frustrating money I’ve ever spent.