Pond Damage
When Tropical Storm Isaiah hit town, we lost power for a couple of days but also had some pond damage.
It turns out a branch not only landed in the stream between the waterfall and the main pond, it also pieced the rubber liner that keeps the water from seeping into the groundwater.
I tried using some Flex Tape the boys got as a joke for Christmas but is surprisingly didn’t stick. I think it was because the rubber was dirty because the Flex Tape was very happy to stick to nearby rocks. I supplemented the Flex Tape with some clear Flex Seal and let it dry for a couple of days. I ran the pond but unfortunately the water level dropped indicating I still had a problem.
I did some further investigation and notice a seam in the rubber. It appears the builder just overlaid some sheets and didn’t seal them. Then I noticed that the branch went through two layers of rubber… and I only sealed one.
Next Day…
Today, I added the patch I bought from Half Off Ponds. First I was told to clean the area with gasoline and then apply the sealer they provided. I was a little concerned about the gasoline and the fish but it all evaporated quickly. (Ironically, I have plenty of gasoline left over from the generator after Isaias.)
I screwed up the first one as the self-stick folded over and formed an excellent seal with itself. The second one seemed to work better but I am concerned about a couple of creases.
I am going to let this dry and then hit the edges with some Flex Seal for good measure. Then I will fold back the overlapping original liner and use the remaining patch kit parts to seal the seams.
Day 3 (?)
I may be getting a little sloppy. I used the extra 6×12″ patches to seal the seam between liners. I didn’t get the area quite as clean as I did with the main patch and I think some of the adhesion is bad. I will spray again tomorrow with clear Flex Seal and (hopefully) call this all done.
Some time later.. (12 Sept 2020)
We have had a couple of days of rain which have delayed my progress. I went out to spray the Flex Seal but the liner was really muddy. I hosed it down but noticed the water was pooling. Instead of cleaning that out, I took it as a sign that the seals were finally holding (knock on wood).
I let it sit for 30 minutes and the water remained, so I thought it would be time to test the water fall and stream. I started the pump and rearranged some rock. I will let it run for a couple of hours and see if the overall water level remains constant.. fingers crossed.
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