When most Phoenix homeowners think of concrete, they typically think of something very durable that will last forever. And we’d like to believe that a concrete pond would follow suit. The foundations of our homes are concrete, after all! And our roads and bridges! And swimming pools! Yep, things that are expected to last forever are made of concrete. So, it just stands to reason that a pond should be made of concrete right? Meh, maybe not so much, and here’s why:
1. CONCRETE IS NOT FOREVER
Concrete is a rigid method of building. It’s exceedingly difficult (and often impossible) to add onto or enhance a concrete pond once completed. You also need to excavate it like a big bowl, which can be dangerous for pets, children, and wildlife if they fall in because it becomes very slick once the “pond patina” layer has formed.
Pools are made of concrete, this is true. However, in addition to being a sterile-water environment, underneath the concrete in pool construction are a bunch of things that help stabilize it and keep it rigid (like rebar), despite the movement of the earth around it. It’s pretty expensive to put all that stuff in place, in case you haven’t priced pools lately. If all you’re going to do is dig a hole and slather concrete over it, you haven’t done any of the things that make concrete durable enough to stand the test of time. This process leads to the failure of the concrete shell. Every time.
2. CONCRETE IS MORE EXPENSIVE
Once the ground has shifted or settled (which will ultimately happen because the earth is always moving just a tad), you’re looking at completely redoing the whole thing in a few years because the concrete shell has cracked, and now you have leaks. By the way, if you let that small leak go too long, it becomes a bigger leak, and the water leaking out may be undermining various structures around it via erosion.
You can try patching a leaky concrete bowl, but that’s not a permanent fix. A better “fix” would be to prep and coat it in a liquid rubber liner product, which is not cheap to do it properly. Oh, and it’s kinda ugly.
If your plumbing springs a leak for any reason, it’s encased in concrete, so you have two options: rip it out and start over, or rerun the plumbing outside of the concrete structure. Yeah, that’s not a good look.
If you can’t fix it, you have to jackhammer out the old pond and put a new one in its place. And the whole process repeats. Remember the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results.
3. CEMENT ONLY CARRIES A 2-YEAR WARRANTY
Most concrete contractors don’t warranty their work beyond the 2-year workmanship requirement of the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. This does not warranty the concrete for cracking and leaking due to the ground shifting underneath, which is guaranteed to happen at some point.
Liner ponds, on the other hand, allow the ground to shift around them without damage. Sure, sometimes there’s a settling leak at the edge of a liner pond. But that’s easy to fix: you just lift the liner a bit, shove some dirt under it, and call it bueno. Try that with concrete.
By comparison, a good liner product (i.e., 45-mil EPDM rubber) carries a 20-year manufacturer’s warranty.
4. FISH & PLANTS DON’T REALLY LIKE CONCRETE
Many a cement-head has responded to the inquiry of adding plants and fish to his structure: “Sure, Mrs. Customer, you can put plants and fish in the pond” – right before they run out the door with that final check. And, yes, you can. That doesn’t mean that the aquatic life will be happy. Concrete, filled with Portland cement, leaches lime and alkalis into the water forever, which does not make for especially happy, healthy plants and fish – especially considering our naturally-high pH here in Arizona.
Because you can’t really build in plant pockets and shelves in a cement pond, you have to keep the aquatic plants in buckets. Not very attractive, and thinning/dividing those plants will be a bear some day. Then there’s having to fertilize the plants because you just can’t seem to teach those darn fish to back up the plant pots to poop – although, they do tend to dig in the pots like dogs. Fertilizer can then cause water quality issues.
5. A CONCRETE POND OR WATER FEATURE WILL NOT ADD TO THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME
Despite the claims, just because a water feature is built out of concrete, that fact alone will NOT add value to your home. What adds value is a beautiful well-built, serviceable water feature that fits well into its surroundings. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the construction method.
If it sounds like we’re bashing concrete ponds, you’re right. We do not believe that they are sustainable or Earth-friendly, nor are they safe for children and wildlife because of the way that they have to be constructed. At this time, there are no fence laws or building codes for ponds in Arizona. The only codes and inspections required are for pools, which indicates that garden “ponds” built like pools (bowls filled with water with slick sides) are considered dangerous by the authorities.
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