Elusive auto level leak on new pool

[Undertow]

Hi all,

We just recently had a pool built. A few days after filling it and the equipment start up, I noticed that the ground behind the auto leveler was saturated right by the deck and then wet for several feet behind it. My assumption was an auto level plumbing problem and I called the pool builder. The sent a tech out and he agreed. We shut off the water and it dried up. Well, today they came out to repair it and dug all around it - no noticeable leak so far. The builder is frustrated and I’m not sure what to do next. I’d like to hope that there is no leak, but I’m not sure how else to explain ground being saturated.

When the tech came out the first time the auto leveler float/fill assembly had a small leak where it was screwed into the pipe on the inside of the container. He put Teflon tape on it and reinstalled it. This seems unlikely to have caused the problem unless the water was somehow getting around the pipe since it sits above the water in the canister.

I’m just looking for any other plausible theories or places to check before they fill it back in. I’ve got the water back on and everything under pressure hoping something will show up.

 

[generessler]

I'm no expert but believe you have a good approach in waiting to see what happens. It's painful, but I'd let the hole open until you've figured out exactly where the water came from. A bucket test over a couple of days would say whether it came from a leak somewhere else. If the inside of the autofill is like mine, you're right that an internal leak would not soak the ground. Rather you'd lose water "down the drain" like a leaky toilet. The bucket test will cover that, too.

One other thing: a quart per hour leak is just 5 drops per second. The image you showed could result from a tiny flow.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

When you said they dug all around it can you be more specific?
Did they ever expose any of the canister to check it for cracks?
When the water supply was shut off to the auto fill did the water level stay the same inside the canister/pool?

 

[Undertow]

When you said the dug all around it can you be more specific?
Did they ever expose any of the canister to check it for cracks?
When the water supply was shut off to the auto fill did the water level stay the same inside the canister/pool?

Yes, the full canister was exposed under the deck and as far as I can tell the water level remained close to the same when the water was off. This all happened within a day or two after the pool was first filled. No leaks were found. This one is going to end up being one of the great unsolved mysteries. I'm just glad that one of their techs got to see it when all of the water was there, and the ground was saturated and came to the same conclusion.

 

[oldprophet]

Was the hole around the cannister left open after the water was turned on? Visual inspection is key In a case like this