There are several types of pond liners you can choose, but some will work better than others. These include clay, concrete and a flexible liners. Clay liners can be effective—but they have a couple of drawbacks. They are very labor intensive to install, and the material can be expensive, too, plus they have a high failure rate. Concrete costs even more than clay, and can be even more problematic. It can crack as the ground around it shifts, plus concrete can release chemicals that interfere with water quality.
Flexible liners are usually a better choice—and they are typically less expensive than concrete or clay—but there are considerations to make here, too. PVC liners are popular and readily available, but if you’re planning fish or plants, PVC can release toxins into the water that harm aquatic life. They’re also prone to UV degradation over time. EPDM is another option, one that has a long life span, but seams are harder to seal, which means that EPDM places limits on the shape and size of the pond. Butyl plastic is ideal for fish, but it comes with a shorter lifespan than other options. Reinforced polyethylene liners can cost more than other flexible liner options, but they’re also the sturdiest, longest lasting and most versatile since they won’t release chemicals that can be harmful to aquatic life.
