Leak in liner or undergound plumbing Please Help!!!!

[beantown9]

I found this site last year bought the Taylor TF100 test kit and have saved a ton of money from not being at the mercy of the pool store. Thank you to all the great experts who selflessly lend their expertise to us newbies. Now for my plea for help!

I have a 38 by 18 rectangular in ground pool with side stairs. I thought that I had a slow leak last summer as I found myself putting water in about every 5-7 days to maintain an acceptable level. I took the cover off the pool after being closed for the winter and found the pool lost all but 2-3 feet of water while I was closed. There is a clear water line that is about three to four inches above the current water level. It appears the pool drained fairly quickly to get down to the water line once it was closed. I walked all around the pool looking for a noticeable tear in the liner. After about three hours I gave up as I was unable to identify the leak.

How do I know if the leak is in the liner or in the underground plumbing? Is there a way to identify a leak in the liner with the water level this low in the pool? Should I drain the pool completely? Or, should drain the muck and refill with clear water to have a diver come and try to food coloring test? Any help would be much appreciated I am at a loss as to how to find and fix the leak.

 

[Isaac-1]

The easiest way I have ever found underwater liner leaks has always been the food coloring test, but I scuba dive so no need to hire anyone for that. Over the years I have probably patched half a dozen leaks found this way, a couple of them were in the shallow end where no scuba was needed, just a mask, but scuba does help as you don't disturb the water as much and can move slowly, typically these leaks happen along the edge of the pool or along seams, but not always. I can't recall any that took over 30-45 minutes to locate, of course it is also possible that your leak is in the plumbing if you have a main drain, and the water found the level of the leak underground (assuming stable water level is below the skimmer and the returns.

Ike

 

[beantown9]

Thanks for the input. The leak is below the skimmer and returns. The water level is only a few feet high in the pool now. If the leak was in the main drain would it have completely drained the pool? I don’t know if I should fill the pool up treat the water enough to make it clear and hire a scuba diver or if there is a way to diagnose the problem with the water level where it is now.