Pond water testing - Ask Extension
We have a pond on our property we would like to use to water our vegetable garden. I believe it would be considered a retention pond (water from our p...
Knowledgebase
Pond water testing #869307
Asked May 20, 2024, 3:33 PM EDT
We have a pond on our property we would like to use to water our vegetable garden. I believe it would be considered a retention pond (water from our property is pumped into it), but there are fish in there. We've heard that you may be able to point us in the right direction on where we can get a testing kit?
Wayne County Michigan
Expert Response
Erin,
Thank you for using Michigan State University Extension with your irrigation pond question. Ponds make great resources for irrigation of non-food crops, landscaping and other plants. It is not recommended for use on food crops due to potential contamination from pollution. Most pollution comes from atmospheric deposition and contaminants from the soils contained in the runnoff during rain events.
If you choose to water your vegetable garden from pond water I recommend using drip hose irrigation and do not water from above with a sprinkler. Make sure you have a good water filter on your pump as algae from the pond can plug up the plubming very quickly. Additionally, make sure to allow your garden to dry between watering or algae may begin to grow on the soil in between your rows.
You can have your water tested for potabiblilty, but to test for contaminants it can get quite costly. I have attached a q &A sheet to help you make decision when managing your pond and a list of labs that does water testing.
Thank you for using Michigan State University Extension with your irrigation pond question. Ponds make great resources for irrigation of non-food crops, landscaping and other plants. It is not recommended for use on food crops due to potential contamination from pollution. Most pollution comes from atmospheric deposition and contaminants from the soils contained in the runnoff during rain events.
If you choose to water your vegetable garden from pond water I recommend using drip hose irrigation and do not water from above with a sprinkler. Make sure you have a good water filter on your pump as algae from the pond can plug up the plubming very quickly. Additionally, make sure to allow your garden to dry between watering or algae may begin to grow on the soil in between your rows.
You can have your water tested for potabiblilty, but to test for contaminants it can get quite costly. I have attached a q &A sheet to help you make decision when managing your pond and a list of labs that does water testing.
