The Correct Way to Make a Waterfall

A waterfall creates an instant focal point in your garden that adds an element of peace while helping drown out the sounds of nearby traffic or noisy neighbors. Installing the waterfall correctly from the beginning means you'll have years to enjoy the sound of splashing water in your backyard pond.


Whether you're adding a waterfall to an existing pond or creating a water feature from scratch, think carefully about where you place it. The spray from a waterfall helps add humidity to the surrounding area, making it an ideal addition to a landscape island filled with tropical plants. Placing the waterfall in full sun, however, can cause the spray to evaporate more quickly, requiring you to add to the water level more often. The waterfall should sit so that all the water hits the pond or basin below without falling on the ground beside it, which can erode the ground and lower the water levels.


The pump must be strong enough to move enough water for the correct distance. Tall waterfalls need higher-powered pumps, since the water must defy gravity up the waterfall pipe for more distance. Wide waterfalls usually need strong pumps as well, since the volume of water the pump must move is high. According to the Family Handyman website, find the gallons per hour your pump must move by measuring the width of your waterfall, then calculate 150 gallons per hour per inch of the width. Measure the lift you need, or the distance the water must travel from the pump to the top of the waterfall. Ten feet of horizontal pipe is considered the same as 1 vertical foot of lift. If your waterfall is 3 feet high and your pond is 5 feet wide with your pump sitting across the pond from your waterfall, you'll need a pump powerful enough to lift water 3 1/2 feet -- 3 feet of actual vertical lift and 1/2 foot from the horizontal distance. Placing the pump as far away from the waterfall as possible helps circulate and aerate the water in the pond.

Waterfall Materials

Your waterfall really only needs a couple of main ingredients to work properly: a submersible pump and tubing that rises above the pond. Of course, a raw tube sticking up from the ground isn't very attractive. How you hide that tube is what makes your waterfall exquisite. Stacked stone gives your waterfall a natural look, as if it's always been there. But you can pile smaller river rocks around the waterfall tube or run the tube through a plant container that you place on its side so it pours back into the pond. A variety of pipes can add an industrial look to your waterfall, including copper or steel. For a more antique look, have the water falling from the mouth of an old hand well pump.


Waterfalls need basins deeps enough to cover the pump and provide a steady flow of water into it. In most cases, a depth of 12 to 18 inches is enough. But that doesn't mean you must dig a 10-foot pond to accommodate your waterfall. If your goal is a waterfall without a pond, a narrow basin or trough should meet the water requirements without taking up valuable space in your backyard. You can dig the basin and cover it with a pond liner or use a large, sealed plant container that you leave above the ground as a decorative element.