Preserving pumped out water for following season

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nelsonp

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Aug 24, 2016
6
Mississauga
Hi,

We just moved to a new home in a rural area with a salt water IG pool. We have never owned a pool before, so lots to learn. The house uses well water (filtered through a whole house r.o system). We are not hooked up to city water so the cost to top up the pool in the summer is quite high since it requires having bulk water delivered (at least that is what the previous owner told me he did).

We live in Ontario and our swimming season is coming to an end, meaning time to winterize the pool.

From what I have learned thus far, the water level of the pool will need to be lowered as part of the closing process. Can this water be saved for reuse next season? The property has two cisterns(not sure about their sizes). One isn't being used so I am thinking that the pool water can be pumped into that and then pumped back into the pool in the spring.

I have searched online and there doesn't seem to be any precedence to doing this, which makes me question myself. The closest relevant information refers to temporarily storing pool water in bladders during pool repairs, but nothing about storing it for 6+ months. Does this make any sense? Any precautions to worry about?

Thanks for your time.
Nelson
 
First off, Welcome to TFP!!!!

When closing in areas with a very hard winter you are correct in your assumption that your pool will need to be drained some. Typically we suggest to drain just below the returns. As for where to put that water, for sure you can put it into the cistern to reuse. Be awere that it's likely not the best drinking water due to the CYA but it can be stored until next year. In addition I would recommend opening your pool early next year to capture as much of the rainfall in March/April as you can to assist in filling your pool and cistern as you can. At times well water is high in iron which is a pain to deal with in your pool. The more fresh water you can add the better.
 
Thanks Leebo for your quick response.
So it seems possible which is encouraging. The second cistern isn't hooked up to the home plumbing, so we wouldn't be using it for consumption; strictly pool top ups. In fact, I was thinking of completely filling it (depending in capacity) with bulk city water delivered from a truck so that I could top up the pool during the summer months due to evaporation. The cost of using the well water (after r.o, demineralization, UV treatment and softner) is rather steep and paying minimum delivery charges isn't fun either.

Again, I've never done this before so I don't know if typically one replenishes water in the pool manually or just waits for rain...

Thanks for your comments.
Nelson
 
It always just depends on Mother Nature. There's been years I've had to drain the pool some to keep it from overflowing while there's been years we've had to truck water in (we too are on a well with high iron) to keep the pool running. All depends on the rainfall.

Another idea I would give you is to direct some of your gutters towards this cistern. The more you can use stored water the cheaper your water bill is gonna be.
 
I also live in Ontario, on the other side of Toronto. This is not an issue for us as we have a mesh safety cover that lets rain and snow through the cover. Our pool is covered around Oct 10 and gets opened around May 10. The water is drained down a foot or two below the skimmer and return jet level. Every year when the pool is opened we have to pump water out of the pool as over the winter it fills up to the absolute rim.

So if you have a mesh cover then this isn't an issue as you will have surplus water in your pool when you go to open it in the spring. If you don't have a mesh cover then I would recommend that you get one. But even if you use a non-permeable cover your pool will fill up and you can just put the bulk of that water under the cover although you want to minimize the gunk that gets put into the pool.
 
Thanks wayner. I am also thinking about upgrading the pool cover and have considered the mesh safety cover. This would (or at least, should) take care of the replenishment in the spring but does also allow for a potential algae issue if I delay my spring opening date. I suppose I could toss a tarp or two over the mesh in the spring to block the sunlight until late May? Or perhaps splurge on a solid safety cover with vents... I'm not too keen on incurring running costs for an extended period without being able to enjoy it.

What about top ups due to evaporation, splashing, etc.. How often does this really happen during the swimming season? This is something that the safety cover can't address...or is the amount so minute that it isnt really an issue and can be easily filled with my well?

Funny thing is that when I considered the pool, I pretty much accounted for everything (chemicals, electricity, testing kits, cleaning, part replacements) except for the most obvious -- the water ;-)

Nelson
 
Top ups depend on the weather. I needed to do a lot of this earlier in the summer but over the last month or so my pool has been somewhat overfull, which is fine by me. I don't think you will have an issue topping up with your well, I grew up in a rural area outside of Hamilton with a pool filled by a well and we never had issues.

When our pool is opened in the spring it is green. But the company that opens it vacuums it and shocks it. Within a few days it is normally clean and we often don't heat it for a while so even if it wasn't swimmable that is no big deal. The yard looks WAY better with the pool uncovered so I don't worry too much about spending a bit more on running the pump. So I would advise opening the pool a bit earlier, get it clean and then just run the pump for a few hours per day. It shouldn't cost you too much on your hydro bill.
 
Thanks MP. I had never heard of a metal trap 25, so I just googled it and it sounds like a viable solution provided your well can keep up. Again, I have no idea how many gallons out of the 25000 you would use up in a typical season.

So far, this thread has me thinking of getting a better cover (possibly solid with mesh vent) and reviving the unused cistern for pool usage only. I can either truck in the water to fill the cistern or fill it slowly use the r.o water generated from the well and then employ the metaltrap25 to rid the metals when topping up the pool.

Great stuff!
Nelson
 

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The metaltrap25 does 25k and you have an 18K pool. It should last you for many, many years when only used for top-off. The 25K is based on 1ppm metals, so knowing your fill water metal content will help you calculate its longevity. The trick is to add slowly and always rinse before using. Those directions are written on the trap itself.

- - - Updated - - -

I made some edits to the above.
 
Thanks everyone for your posts. I am feeling less anxious about next nears opening now and can start planning for the close. I guess this naturally leads to figuring out the proper type of pool cover.. I'm sure there is a thread or two here about that ;-)

Thanks
Nelson
 
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