craig's_corner

The installation of water gardens has grown in popularity in recent years. They provide an
escape from the daily grind and provide a tranquil place for us to take a break and relax.
That is the way it is supposed to be but unfortunately not always the case.

Dig a hole and fill it with water. Easy peazy - right? Well not as easy as that….
The Water Works Pond installation crews have no problems keeping busy during the pond
building season. Unfortunately we are noticing a worrying trend. We estimate that about
30% of our installation work is conducting repair work for existing ponds. These were
projects initially carried out by the home owners or general contractors who found it a little
more than they bargained for. We would always advise home owners and general contractors
to take our hands-on Build-A-Pond course. This way, when they come to do their own
project, they have already have the experience of building a full functioning pond.

What is unfortunate is the high level of cases where we have to completely gut out the pond and start all over. Good business for us right?? Well, not really as we are in this because we are 'into' ponds, if we didn't, we would have stuck to general landscaping as we did years ago. We want to see people enjoy their ponds, stay with it to come back to us for continued support. This support keeps their ponds working at their optimum efficiency to maintain the health of the ecosystem. Happy pond owners contribute to a healthy pond industry here in Alberta.

Our install crew are kept busy enough as it is, and given the choice, would rather work on a 'blank canvas' than working on a messy and smelly rebuild project. I've done it myself and it isn't a whole lot of fun working with slippery rocks and exposed smelly sludge in the baking hot summer sun. Yuck!

Craig Houston, our Edmonton based pond installation foreman reflects on some of the rebuilds carried out for this and future issues. We hope this feature highlights some of the pitfalls that new pond owners can fall into. For those who have ponds built as they should be, this feature will probably deliver a better appreciation of what they have and in turn inform friends who are thinking of getting a pond themselves.