A waterfall without a pond???

The water gardening industry is like most others, constantly evolving and adapting to client needs and demands. Perhaps the most exciting thing to hit water gardening in the past ten years is the advent of pondless water features. A pondless waterfall is simply a waterfall that has no standing water. These types of water features are great for so many reasons but are not for everyone, we will discuss those reasons, and you can decide if a pondless water feature is for you.

Lots of people have been interested in a water feature for their yard, but thought differently once they realize that the pond will need maintenance. Ponds just don’t fit the lifestyle of some people. Some folks just have limited space, and quite a few don’t want a pond, they just want the waterfall, and that sound of splashing water. Well, we are happy to tell you that many pond product manufacturers have listened and developed a system to eliminate the need for a pond with your waterfall. (A major contributor to this evolution is Aquascape Designs. They have worked hard to make the water feature industry available to almost everyone. The term ‘Pondless Waterfall’ was actually coined by Aquascapes, and is trademarked by them.) Many other manufacturers have followed suit, and have different names for their products. For simplicity we will refer to all of these water features as pondless waterfalls.

A pondless waterfall involves a waterfall or stream that flows into a basin of gravel, instead of a pond. These water features have no standing water, only moving water in the stream or waterfall. This greatly reduces the risk to small children, and pets, and also virtually eliminates maintenance. Because there is no standing water anything that would normally fall INTO a pond simply lands ON the gravel, and can be removed easily by hand, or even a leaf blower! If installed correctly, you can walk all over the feature, with no damage to the liner, or the hidden equipment. Kids and pets can play in it like a fun day in the mountains, with absolutely no worry of damage. The technology is simple: a housing for the pump is placed in a basin much like a small pond then the entire basin is filled with stone. You start with large stones, and progress to small stones, then gravel to top it off. The water occupies the area between the stones, and the pump housing. The pump circulates the water to the waterfall, and it flows back to the basin. Depending upon the size of the waterfall or stream will depend upon the size of the basin. The basin needs to be large enough to provide a continuous supply of water to the waterfall when it is first turned on. These water features can be created to fit any budget, and any size. We have created some with streams over thirty feet long, and some with waterfalls over ten feet wide. Our favorites are somewhere in between, like a natural flowing stream or brook.

In conclusion, a pondless water feature is an attractive option for many homeowners. It is almost maintenance free, provides all the aesthetics of a waterfall, and it often costs a bit less to install than a similar water feature with fish. We love this new addition to the water gardening industry, and we are sure you will too!