Seems like a leak

[keep-it-simple]

All last week the water level was just below the opening of the skimmer. I thought I had filled the pool more than that, but I had been back washing so whatever.
Then it rained 3" on Friday and filled the pool. Friday, Saturday, Sunday I had it running on skimmer only. What a nice way to get all the pine needles and maple helicopters out of the pool!
This morning I went down just as the timer was kicking on the pump to add the Kreepy Krawly and now the water level is below the opening to the skimmer again. The pump had sucked the water line dry in the < 2 minutes it was on while I was uncoiling the tubes for the vacuum.

Ugh. So how significant is a leak?
If the leak is at the skimmer level and it never gets lower than that can we just deal with it for a little while?
Previous owner said she had a leak in the skimmer line 3 years ago and they had to dig up the concrete pool deck and part of the back yard to replace the PVC. She said it was fine the past 2 years though. Seems like it would be cheaper to get a pass to the community pool!

 

[JasonLion]

1" of water loss a day is a fairly serious leak. You can keep up with it by topping off constantly, but in the long run that is going to cost a lot in water and throw you chemical levels constantly out of balance.

I recommend turning off the equipment and giving it a while longer to see if it really does stop draining when it gets to the bottom of the skimmer. That will give you a fairly strong clue about where the leak might be.

 

[keep-it-simple]

Thanks.
I don't see any water or damp ground anywhere to give any additional information.
The water level has been at the bottom of the skimmer since we moved in with no problem. And that's where it's hanging out now.
Ugh!
We were going to build a deck. I guess we need to take care of this before there is an additional structure in the way.