Half full

[Cherylr]

Good morning friends,
The guys from the pool store came yesterday and opened my pool. They began to pump water off the cover while they were putting down some sand and rock for erosion control. About four hours later they were still pumping water from the pool cover. When they finally got the cover off, my pool was only half full of water. One of the pool guys insisted it was due to rain pushing water out the unplugged eyeball hole. I'm not sure I'm buying his explanation.

I posted a question last year about some concerns I had - my site had to be leveled by cutting down 18 inches on one side so that means building up that much on the other side. On the side that is built up (also the side where the skimmer, pump, etc. are), I could feel a trench about 5 feet long and about 4 inches wide that had formed alongside the bottom perimeter of the pool close to the skimmer. The soil underneath felt squishy. The pool store sent out some guys who repaired a "leak" that they never actually found. I kept fussing all summer about the soil being washed out from under the pool and I could see my bulging liner. Store owner came out and said the problem was erosion. They put dirt around the area last fall and then brought the sand and rock yesterday.

I got in the pool yesterday to scoop some leaves since it was only half full of water. From inside the pool, the entire perimeter of the pool felt squishy. Is that normal? What happened to my water? Is something probably leaking?

I know this is a lengthy post, and I do apologize. Bit I would appreciate your thoughts.

Cheryl
Kenton TN

30' above ground vinyl liner 2 years old
Sand filter

 

[JohnT]

Is your cover solid or mesh? Do you have a float in there? Water or snow can accumulate on top of the cover and push the pool water out, but a leak in the cover can cause you to pump pool water out when trying to clear the cover.

You generally don't want to build-up the ground under a pool. It's going to settle.

 

[Cherylr]

The cover is a 2 year old solid one with no obvious holes or tears. I'm not sure what you mean by a float??? I don't think I have one though.

I just spoke with the pool folks, and they instructed me to turn off the filter, close the valves, and mark the water level and watch it a few days. It's hot here already , and I don't want an algae mess, but I guess I may have bigger problems than algae if something is leaking.

Do you think their advice is the thing to do at this point?

Cheryl
Kenton TN
30' above ground, vinyl liner, sand filter

 

[JohnT]

People put a big float in the middle of the pool to hold the cover up so water doesn't accumulate.

With an above ground pool, I don't really see the need to shut off the pump to find a leak since you can see if you have a leak in the plumbing.

 

[Bama Rambler]

You can perform a bucket test with the pump running and 24 hours is long enough to tell whether you have a leak or not.

To do the bucket test you sit a bucket about 2/3rds filled with water on a pool step or ladder rung and measure the level in the bucket and in the pool carefully. Let it sit over night and measure the levels again. If the pool lost more than the bucket you have a leak. If they both lost the same it's evaporation.