Name: Jim Northeast Pennsylvania (Zone 6b) Gardens feed my body, soul & spirit
Wow, that's a lot of ducks! Nice pics.
Looks like unless you can get the water tested to find out the composition of the TDS, you'll have to dump most of the water. I don't know if such a test is expensive or not. Also, I know in some areas of CA, there are strict water restrictions and high costs, right. Would you re-fill from your household water source or have it trucked in by tanker?
Ah, I'm just a pond novice. I only put in our garden pond this past Spring. It's a small 425 gallon raised pond. I was going to damn up a natural spring on our property that runs through a deep depression behind our house, but the 4 inches of paperwork and fees from the State of Pennsylvania put an end to that. (Endangered species study, historic building study, 100 year flood study, run-off study, site survey, relocating "wet land", etc., etc., etc.!) I still may just dig a hole in our back field and put a well in to feed it. They can't stop me from doing that.
