What is my pond doing during the drought
"Hello this is Scott"
" Hi I was calling because I think my pond has a hole in it, I have never seen the water level this low"
I have had more calls about pond water levels being low in the month of June, than I can count on my feet and hands. Most calls are from home owners who have just recently purchased the home in the past 4 years and are not familiar with a hot dry summer. because this is the worst in many years people are surprised and worried about there pond.
The pond water level is only lowering because the ground water level has lowered. The water level in the pond can be even lower then the water table, due to added evaporation. Unless your pond is fed by a major spring, creek, river, or is filled with a well it will always fluctuate. This makes the average pond look horrible, scum and much you can't normally see is now visible by you and any one else that views your pond. Unless you can afford to install a well ($2,000-$5,000) plus the cost of electricity to run the well all summer, you are forced to let mother nature take its course. Some times I will put some nice gravel or smaller boulders on the shore of the pond to make it look pleasing.
Fish fall dormant in these hot days of summer. oxygen levels in water at 90 degrees can only reach around 7.0 parts per million, or about 50,000 times less then the air you or I breath. If the oxygen level gets so low the fish and plants are fighting over the oxygen, the plants will when and the fish die. The best way to prevent this is with a aeration system. It is very important to have a sufficient aeration system in your pond, to prevent this fish kill off. It is a costly investment, but one that is needed to have healthy fish.