Blind 'Too, this thread PROVES that you should not stop ponding.
If I do ever build another one, I have a spot for it and the waterfalls would come down off the hill. Might as well utilize that currently useless hill for something!
YES!
If you wanted to save your current pond, the thing to do would be to add drainage tiles/French drain/corrugated drainage piping all around the pond leading out to somewhere that's lower.
The same concept applies to houses. The previous owner of our house had a water problem in the basement, so she paid a lot of money to have a drainage system & sump pump installed. When we moved in, we noticed some puddling on the floor in wet weather. All we did to cure it was:
1- made sure the ground soil was graded away from the house.
2- installed corrugated drainage pipes on all the gutters, buried them in a hand-dug trench, and made sure they emptied far away from the house it a naturally-draining spot.
Lot of work, but well worth it. We haven't had a drop of water in the basement in 10 years, even in torrential rain. The same concept applies to the pond.
Another thing to consider is the unbelievable amount of rain youz Cali's have gotten recently. Don't let it get to you. It will end and you'll be back to your normal desert conditions... hoping for rain.