Pondless Waterfalls

Pondless waterfalls are an ideal way to create water action – both sound and a visual effect – in a small backyard. They are also easily maintained in a small area because they do not require a pond at the base to catch the water.

To understand how this system works, let’s look at the water flow.

Water is contained in a sump – the pump sits there as well under several feet of water in the sump. (Think sump pump in a basement hole) This sump is disguised under a layer or rock so it is invisible.

A liner sites on top of the sump area, covering the entire area so the water has to drain to the sump and can’t escape into the ground. Naturally the seal between the sump and the liner has to be perfect or you’ll lose water to the surrounding garden.

The pump is connected to a hose and when it is running, it pumps the water out of the sump and normally to the top of a rockface or waterfall that is situated immediately over top of the sump. The water cascades back down into the liner and into the sump to start the journey all over again.

There is no pond area in a pondless waterfalls system.

Pond Supply Needs

You require a pond pump. And it has to be sized appropriately to the amount of water you want to pump over the top of your waterfalls. The rule of thumb here is to have 1500 gallons of water every hour per foot of width of the waterfalls. In other words, a 3 foot wide waterfall will require a pump capable of delivering 4500 gallons of water per hour.
pondless waterfalls

Understand that a pump that will deliver this amount of water at a height of 2 feet may not deliver this much water at 4 feet. The height of the pondless waterfalls over top of ground level is called the head. Your chosen pump has to be able to deliver the volume of water you require at the head or height you decide to build.

Important I can’t emphasize this pump capacity enough. If you under-estimate the water flow because you’ve purchased a pump that is too small for the head you’re trying to pump – you’ll be very unhappy. It is far better to get a slightly larger pump and bleed off some of the water flow to get the right water flow-rate than it is to skimp on pump costs and be unhappy with a water trickle instead of a water falls.

You Still Need to Know

You still need building steps to waterfalls construction. Whether the waterfall is at the head of a pond or at the head of a pondless waterfall, it follows the same principles of construction.

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