Making A Flowing River With A Pond Part 2
The Overflow Pipe allows excess water especially during heavy rain to escape to the outside drains.
Overflow
What if it overflows?
I made sure that the pond was slightly lower than the garden drainage pipe. The river rocks was placed all the way to the pipe which drains directly to main drains outside. It is important to have an overflow pipe to prevent flooding in the garden. If you have fish in the pond, make sure to have a barrier to prevent them swimming out of the pond and into the drains. I used rocks as a barrier which worked well because it prevented the fish from swimming out while still allowing water to flow through it when the water level rose too high.
The River
How to Make A River
The method for making a river is the same as that for a dry river.
Once you’ve marked the route, dig a little so that the river is slightly lower than the surrounding area. Remember that in order for this closed system to work, there must not be any places by the river for the water to escape or you will have to keep refilling your pond. So make sure that it’s deep enough not to allow the water to escape but not too deep that you end up having ‘walls’ like a canal. These walls will be hard to cover up with the river rocks and will make the river look less natural.
Lay the pond liner and test it before placing the river rocks.
What no to do: river rocks are on the pond liner for a dry river. Some parts are too deep and narrow.
Placing & Dimensions
I chose the starting point to be where the rain from my roof garden fell which is at the front of the house and since our river starts with a waterfall, it was a perfect feature. It also happened to be at the opposite end of the overflow pipe so this worked perfectly. The pond would be at the back of the garden. I especially loved this because it would be in front of the kitchen window. So I’d be able to see the fish swim as I washed the dishes, who could ask for more?
Note: When planning your placement of your river and pond, you should also take into account any pipes and wiring that may be buried in the ground.
The dimensions of the river is up to you; mine was 10 metres long and about 30-50cm wide. The distance will however, determine the type of water pump that you use as the pump will need to be able to transport the water from the pond to the starting point of your river.
The Pump
You will need to consider several factors such as: the distance from the pond to the beginning of the river, as well as the difference in elevation when choosing your pump.
Elevation
The elevation is basically the difference between the point where the pump is resting on, to the highest point of the hose where the water is released.
A submersible pump works best in the deepest part of your pond, where it can draw water from the bottom to oxygenate the entire pond. This allows the water that is most at risk of becoming oxygen depleted to be constantly circulated.
Although our river was only about 50 cm from the deepest part, we had the water hose lifted into a pot so that the water would fall down, basically giving a waterfall effect. Therefore, the difference in elevation for ours was just about 1m.
The waterfall was not only for the wonderful sound of water but also to mask the sound of the busy street next to us.
Part 3 coming soon!
