Pond Waterfall Features

• Adding a waterfall to your pond is an excellent way to increase the showcase component of this landscaping feature. Once it is built, water falling gently into a pond can serve as a stress release from the pressures of the day. Waterfall ponds can also become an enticement to local wildlife ranging from butterflies to squirrels. The components that make up a waterfall pond will depend on how sophisticated a set-up you desire.

Flexible Liners

• Flexible liners can be made of everything from polyethylene to PVC to butyl rubber. The polyethylene typically only last for a year or two at most, whereas butyl rubber can last up to 20 years with regular maintenance. Flexible liners used for a waterfall effect allow for complete design freedom based on material that can be contoured to any shape.

Preformed Liners

• Preformed liners must be buried in the exact shape in which they come from the manufacturer. High-quality fiberglass liners could potentially last as long as 70 years. These liners are a component that do allow for some versatility in your pond design, especially if you incorporate liner modules that link together to create a waterfall of multiple levels.

Recirculating Pumps

• Pumps are an essential component of waterfalls when you are using recirculated water to create the effect. Pumps for waterfall ponds are waterproof and submersible. You can raise the pump by placing it on top of a brick or concrete block. The actual height of the waterfall is dependent upon the size of the pump.

Pavers

• The edge of a waterfall pond needs to be coped with pavers made of stone or concrete. Brick, flagstone or another type of cut stone provides the most appealing aesthetics to the coping, which will be laid over any exposed liner extending out beyond the pond. You can place the stones even with the edge of the liner, or you can allow the stones to overhang a little.

Soil

• Soil that has been excavated from the hole which was due to create the pond can be used as a component in creating a stair-step waterfall when using flexible liner. Stretch the liner from the pump to the top of the waterfall, and then create ridges down which the water falls.

Echo Chamber

• Use a large flat stone cantilevered over the edge of the pond by at least half a foot above the water. Use another stone that is tucked against the side of the pond so that it forms a vertical wall. The result of adding a stack of rocks, about 2 inches high on the stone that is cantilevered, is an echo chamber.