If you have a pond, then you’ve probably considered using the excess drainage to water your garden, trees, or lawn. Pond water is filled with various contaminants that might make you feel uneasy about the process. You’re about to learn all there is to know about using pond water on your land.
Pond water can be used to water plants if you treat it to remove microbes and other additives. Using pure pond water on your plants can be toxic, causing your plants to die. Consider testing the water first and treating or filtering it if necessary.
Throughout this article, you’ll discover the following details about using pond water to hydrate your plants:
- What you should do if algae is found in the water
- Different methods to treat pond water to reuse on plants
- Various problems associated with using pond water in your garden
Is It OK to Water Plants With Algae Water?
There are dozens of types of algae, most of which can be harmful if consumed. Your plants are no different; algae will wreak havoc if it’s left unchecked. Before you start dumping buckets of algae-packed pond water on your plants, consider the following:
- If you’re watering your vegetable garden, various microbes can cause an array of illnesses. You could get severely sick if you don’t treat the algae-filled water before using it on your plants. Furthermore, it can be bad for the plants, drying them out and infecting them quickly.
- As mentioned by SFGate, bacteria found in pond water can choke the roots of your plants. This process prevents your plants from getting enough hydration, causing them to dry and brittle rapidly. Furthermore, the bacteria will grow on the plants and spread to nearby roots.
- Believe it or not, some types of algae are an essential part of your pond’s ecosystem. When you remove it in mass quantities, it could cause the plants in your pond to die, ruining the pond. If you want to use pond water to water your plants, make sure you’re not doing it too often.
- Never use pond water with algae to water-edible plants. Whether it’s vegetables, flowers, or fruit, pond water that is loaded with algae can make you sick, as mentioned in the initial point. Once it penetrates the roots, some types of algae are known to grow through the edible portion of the plant.
- Note that some types of algae can cause dust when they dry out. When it dries and cracks, spores can release into the air, causing people to breathe them in. When you breathe toxic algae, the results can be quite dangerous. The moral of the story is to always know what algae lies in the pond water before using it.
As you can see, using pond water might not be the safest suggestion for many people. If you’re using it on edible plants, you might want to think twice. For those who are set on reusing their pond water on plants and for other purposes, proceed to the next section to purify and filter the water.
How to Treat Pond Water to Use Elsewhere
Treating pond water to drink and water your plants isn’t as complicated as it sounds. You might worry about dousing it with chemicals or spending several days filtering it, but it can be done in less than an hour.
Here’s a quick YouTube video by CNN Business that explains how you can use a water pen to filter out microbes in pond water:
If you want to water your plants with pond water, you obviously need larger quantities than just a bit of water in a bottle. But the principle works for a whole watering can or tank as well. So for those of you who want to drink water from your pond or treat it to use on plants, follow these steps:
- Get a residential water filtration system for your pond. Clear Water Systems offers a unique device that gets rid of toxic contaminants, allowing you to filter the water for drinking, watering the soil, and more. If you have a medium to large pond on your property, these filtration systems are an absolute must-have.
- Get a sample of your pond water tested at a local lab. On a Diskussion on Meetup it is mentioned that nitrogen and many other components necessary for plant growth are found in pond water, but so are a few other toxic additives. The only surefire way to know all about the ecosystem in your pond is to get it tested.
- Always filter the water before using it on your plants. Charcoal filters are some of the best filters on the market. They can remove the vast majority of contaminants, including algae and other toxic issues. You could also consider plumbing a swimming pool filter since they naturally remove algae.
- If you added chlorine to clear the water, use a chlorine removal kit. They’re fairly budget-friendly, and you can get all of the chlorine out of the pond water before you use it on your plants. Note that it’s highly unlikely that there’s chlorine in water with fish unless you’ve added it through the hose.
City water often contains fluoride, chlorine, and other chemicals that can prove harmful for plant life. They tend to cause excessive dryness, leaving your plants to rot. Test the water before you use it in your pond and on your plants, even if you don’t have fish or plants in the pond.
There are a few other noteworthy dangers that you might encounter when using pond water to water your plants. If you want to know about them, read on.
What Are the Dangers of Using Untreated Pond Water?
Before we get into this section, it’s important to remember that it’s perfectly safe to use treated, chemical and algae-free pond water on your plants. The following details only cover the dangers associated with using dirty, unfiltered water in your garden.
Fungus and Algae Are Potent
Fungus and algae can destroy entire gardens. If there’s fungus or algae in the pond water and you dump it on your plants, they’ll develop root rot, dryness, and a plethora of other life-ending infections. On top of all of that, these contaminants can make you sick if you eat the plants after watering them with untreated pond water.
Fertilizer Can Be Problematic
Fertilizer contains a variety of natural ingredients designed to promote plant life. However, after it runs into your pond and gets chemically separated, its pH tends to change slightly. Using the fertilizer runoff in pond water to water your plants will alter its pH, ruining the soil and making it unusable. Even if you don’t use fertilizer, compost can cause issues.
The Water Might Contain Other Dangerous Chemicals
Lastly, runoff from city water can contain chemicals that can’t be removed with most water filters. Instead, they push through and add toxicity to the plants that you water. You might not know that they’re in there until it’s too late. Make sure you’re aware of runoff, including what other people might’ve dumped into the pond. Everything that goes in will be used on the plants.
Conclusion
It’s safe to use pond water to water your plants as long as you treat it accordingly. Fortunately, you have all of the info you need to treat the pond water and keep dangerous chemicals and microbes from getting into the garden.
Here’s a quick rundown of the post:
- Algae, bacteria, fungus, and chemicals post threats to your garden.
- Using untreated pond water to water plants can be incredibly dangerous.
- Consider getting a water filtration system installed to drink and water plants with your pond water.
- Always know what’s going in and coming out of the pond before you use it.