Pool Leak - Possibly the Overflow Line?

[saintsfans81]

Hello,

Before I begin, I want to caveat that I am very new to pool care and maintenance.

We have lived in our house for about a year and a half, the in-ground pool was installed by the previous owner and is about 9 years old. The pool plumbing area has two return lines, one drain line for the two drains in the bottom of the pool and the skimmer basket line. We also have a chlorinator and ionizer installed.

Around May of 2015 we had some contractors come in and sod and land scape our back yard. During this process they had removed a white PVC pipe protruding out from from the side of the pool near the skimmer basket, which I now presume to be the overflow line. At around this same time in Jun of 2015 I noticed my water level dropping in my pool. At first I thought it was due to the heat of the summer, but after doing the bucket test I realized I had a leak. My water bill used to be around $80 a month, and ever since Jun 2015 my water bill has jumped to $120 a month and remained there ever since. I have to fill up my pool about 2 times per week to keep the water level. I have a hunch that my leak has something to do with the overflow line, but I have no idea how that line could be causing a leak. Maybe I am way off. If anyone has any idea what could be causing my pool leak I would greatly appreciate your advice. Thank you very much,

Travis

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

It's possible someone put too much pressure on things and cracked the skimmer or the pipe somewhere below the water level. But before you grab a shovel... do you have a sand filter with a multiport valve? Or a DE filter with a multiport? Do you know where the waste line goes? It's very common that the gasket inside rots away and water starts leaking out the waste line and many people don't realize it because the waste line feeds straight into the sewer or is disappears underground and surfaces some distance away out on the woods or in a planter.

Multiport:

 

[Jimrahbe]

Travis,

Well, since water normally does not enter the overflow system unless the pool has too much water in it, and you have the opposite problem, I doubt this is an overflow issue. Do you see any water, or wet soil, around where the missing pipe used to be? Is your pool a plaster pool or vinyl pool?

The first place I would look would be a crack in the skimmer. One trick is to let the leak continue, but don't add water and see what happens. If the skimmer, the leak will stop when the water drops below the skimmer mouth. Another trick is to see if the leak goes away with the pump off but comes back with the pump on, which would indicate a possible leak in the one of the return lines.

Jim R.

 

[saintsfans81]

Hi Richard,

I have a cartridge filter, with the only extra port being the back wash. I have no idea where the waste line goes or even where it is at. How would I locate the gasket to inspect it?

 

[Richard320]

Hi Richard,

I have a cartridge filter, with the only extra port being the back wash. I have no idea where the waste line goes or even where it is at. How would I locate the gasket to inspect it?

Cartridge filters typically don't have a backwash valve. You remove the element to clean it. They will have a drain plug so the thing doesn't freeze up and split over the winter in cold climates. Is there a pipe or a valve connected to that, maybe? Or do you actually have a push-pull backwash valve like this?

 

[cloud]

Travis, I suggest you post some pictures of areas in question. There might be something you're not noticing. The more eyes on the general area - the better.

//cloud

 

[saintsfans81]

Sorry for the late reply (went out of town for the weekend). I am currently letting my pool leak down to see if it stops at the skimmer basket. I have a vinyl liner pool. When I inspected the inside of the pool I didn't find any soft spots behind the liner, nor have I have not found any wet spots around the pool either. I've attached a few pics to show what my setup looks like.