Question
QUESTION: I recently put in a small pond off of a new brick paver patio.  The water runs off the patio into the yard and pond.  It has been raining her for a week and I am the low point in the neighborhood.  Everyone drains into my yard and into the city drain system between me and the next door neighbor.  This afternoon I found the liner floating up in the center and the pump was out of the water....there is water under the liner.  I have had no leaks before this and it happened quickly in a matter of 5 hours.  I have had drainage problems in my yard before and had a drain system put in to drain water pooling in my yard.  I have not been able to check for hole but I can't see how I could have gotten one since I had no problems before today.  It is a high quality new 20 year guarantee PVC liner.  Any suggestions on what could be happening.  I have 3/4 of a ton of rock all around the pond and one edge touches the brick pavers with rock next to it.

ANSWER: This happens when your water table is higher than average and especially when the ground is extremely saturated.

The ground water is higher than the ground level of the bottom of the pond and is pushing it above it itself due to the liner's buoyancy.

Try to find a diagram of this occurrence online.

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QUESTION: Is there a solution for this problem?  I am sure this will happen again in the spring when the snow melts.

ANSWER: I'd have to see the situation with my own eyes to decide if it were fixable through any simple means.

You could always dig the pond up, fill the hold, and remake it above ground.  You could either use wood or cinder blocks as the easiest-to-work-with supports.  Look for some pictures of above-ground ponds and see if you like it.

Best of luck!

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pond   QUESTION: I have attached a photo of my pond before the problem.  I can send more pictures from different angles if you want. You can't see it in the photo but the side next to the brick is higher than the side where the plants are.  The idea was to slope it away to drain into the yard if it overflowed.  I hope this helps you determine what is the best fix.  Thanks

Answer
It looks like water could be getting under the liner on the side adjacent to the patio.  You could perhaps build that side up about 6" and pour concrete around the area between that side and the patio.
\       _____________       /
\     /oOoOoOoOoOoOoO\    /
 \   |oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO|  /
  \  |          | /
   \ |          |/
    \ \______________/<--THIS IS THE NEW EDGE OF THE POND
     \_______________/<-- THIS IS WHERE THE CONCRETE GOES
     THIS IS THE PATIO