Pond repair in Boise, Idaho

Pond repair in Boise usually starts with a worried call: "My pond keeps losing water," or "The waterfall barely runs anymore," or "It turned green overnight." The hard part of most pond repairs isn't the fix. It's figuring out what is actually wrong. A lot of money gets spent replacing pumps that were fine or patching liners that never had a hole.

I'm Kabe Hockema. I build ecosystem ponds with Aquascape components, so I know how a skimmer, biofalls filter, liner and pump are supposed to work together. When I come out for a repair, I start by finding the cause. Then we talk about the fix.

Common pond problems I see

• Water level keeps dropping. Could be a leak, could be evaporation.
• Weak or no flow over the waterfall.
• Green water or thick string algae that won't go away.
• Exposed liner showing at the edges.
• Rocks or edges that have settled or slid into the water.
• Fish gasping at the surface or dying off.
• Old ponds built with a preformed shell or concrete that has cracked.

Finding the cause before fixing anything

Leak or evaporation?

Boise summers are hot, dry and often windy. A pond with a waterfall can lose a surprising amount of water to the air on a bad week. So the first question is whether the water is leaking or just evaporating.

Here's the test I use. I fill the pond to a marked level and turn off the pump. If the water keeps dropping with the pump off, the leak is likely in the pond itself, and I watch where the level stops. If the level holds with the pump off but drops when it runs, the leak is in the waterfall, stream or plumbing. That one test saves a lot of guessing. For the full process, see my page on pond leak repair.

Most leaks are at the edges

In my experience, holes in the liner are less common than people think. More often, the edge of the liner has sunk below the water line somewhere. Soil settles, a rock shifts, or a plant root pulls the liner down. Water quietly wicks out over that low spot. Along streams and waterfalls, a stone can shift and send water over the side of the liner. These fixes are usually simple once you find them.

Pump and flow problems

When the waterfall slows down, I check the easy things first: a full skimmer net, clogged filter mats, or debris jammed in the pump intake. Then I look at the plumbing for kinks or leaves packed in the line. If the pump is worn out or was too small to begin with, it's time for a new one. I cover that on my pond pump installation page.

Green water and algae

Green water is a balance problem, not a broken part. It usually means too many nutrients and not enough filtering. Common causes are too many fish, too much food, too few plants, or a filter that's too small or missing. Summer heat in the Treasure Valley makes it worse. The fix might be more plants, a bigger biofalls, a skimmer added to an old pond, or more beneficial bacteria.

Freeze-thaw damage

Our winters freeze and thaw the ground over and over. That movement can heave rocks out of place and pull down liner edges. Ice can also crack fittings or a pump left full of water in the cold. I check for this kind of damage in spring and fix it before the pond is back in full use.

Repair or rebuild

Some ponds aren't worth patching. If the liner is brittle and torn in several places, or an old concrete pond keeps cracking, a new liner or a rebuild may cost less over time. My page on pond liner replacement explains when that makes sense. I'll give you a straight answer about which way I'd go and why.

What drives the cost of pond repair

• How hard the problem is to find. Some leaks show up in an hour. Some take longer.
• Where the problem is. A low edge is quick. A problem under a big boulder takes more labor.
• Parts. Pumps, fittings, filter media and liner patches.
• Fish. If the pond has to be drained, the fish need to be held safely.
• Upgrades you decide to add while the pond is open.

Areas I serve

I repair ponds in Boise, Eagle, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, Star, Middleton, Kuna, Garden City and Hidden Springs, along with Sun Valley and Ketchum. I'm on every repair myself, and you'll have my direct number. For other pond services, visit my main pond contractor page, or see the full range of water features I build.

Get your pond repair in Boise started

If your pond needs repair in Boise, the first step is a visit so I can see what's going on. Schedule a consultation or call (541) 961-7269, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.