Most of us at this forum have ponds, and most of those ponds require electricity for pump operation, lighting and other uses. We take electricity for granted and use it familiarly with great familiarity, often ignoring the hard truth that electricity can easily kill us. As a reminder not to take shortcuts that can shortcut our very lives, please consider the following:
Common sense guidelines for using electricity around ponds or water features:
Many local electric codes do not have specific rules for water gardens. Where they do not, the codes for
swimming pools apply.
1. NEVER use extension cords to power any permanent electrical device around ponds or water features. this
includes both submersible and out of pond pumps, lights, or any other electric appliance.
2. Provide a separate circuit from your house service distribution box to your pond with an appropriate circuit
breaker size. Caution! Electrical codes require 10 feet between receptacles and the pool edge.
3. Run all outdoor electrical lines within approved PVC conduit.
4. Bury all conduits according to local electrical codes. (Generally PVC should be 18 " depth. UF wire not in conduit
can be buried but must be 24" deep.)
5. Use appropriate cable: UF type, NOT Romex.
6. Use appropriate size cable: Check ampacity requirements of pumps, etc. 15 amps requires wire size 14. 20
amps require wire size 12. 30 amps require wire size 10. 40 amps require wire size 8.
7. Terminate all service runs with PVC outdoor receptacles configured with weatherproof covers approved for
wet locations, such as Carlon's MM-400GY-B Multi-Mac receptacle covers.
8. Outdoor switches must be approved for wet locations such as Carlon's Weather proof switch cover.
9. ALL outdoor circuits require ground fault protection. REMEMBER HOWEVER, GFI's protect only from
current running from the circuit to ground. If you should find yourself across the line voltage of the GFI output
you can STILL DIE! If this were not true, your pump would not run. This is possible in rubber
liner pools because the water in the pool is often insulated from ground by the rubber liner. Because of this you
can have a leakage from a faulty submerged pump and the GFI will not trip because there is no leakage to ground.
However, should you come in contact with neutral AND THE WATER in the POOL, you could be toast. This is
because the GFI cannot distinguish between you and the normal "load". Technical operation of GFI's is
explained at
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/gfi.html . GFI's occasionally fail. NEC
recommends monthly testing. There are GFI's available that have an indicator that lights when the protection has
failed.
10. Pool grounding:
As noted above, If your pond is lined with rubber (EDPM) or HDPE, the water is likely insulated from ground.
Therefore, if a submerged electrical device is leaking current into the water, the GFI will not trip, and your fish
(and you) can be hurt. This can be prevented by grounding your pool water. To do this, drive a grounding stake
into the ground near the pond and attach a copper wire such as a 14 0r 12 gauge to it and make a loop at the other
end (with any insulation removed, of course) and place it permenently in the pond in a discrete manner. Be sure
not to have any sharp points exposed that could damage your liner. With this system in place, should any electric
device in the pond develop a leakage to the water, your GFI will shut off the current.
If all this seems too complicated, hire a Qualified professional electrician to provide your pond with electrical
service. If you think that's too expensive, ask yourself, " How much is my life worth?" how much are my
children's lives worth? Be safe.
