Ok, a new problem....dirty water from flooding

[X1088LoD]

Just as I was about to make an update to my previous posts about how it was all fixed and all stains removed (http://www.troublefreepool.com/how-...up-on-pool-stairs-and-dirty-walls-t15797.html)...tornados and horrible flooding go through my area. If it is not one thing, it is something else...

So my swimming pool was essentially underwater...

Now the water is all nasty, green again with just dirty water. It is so frustrating after all the work getting it to where it was...

How to I go about cleaning this up and getting it pristine again?

Before...sigh......

During...not a great pic, but flooding was a good inch or two over the entire pool...

After...

This pool is becoming the bane of my existance, its needier than my pets , and we have only gotten to enjoy it once so far

Latest readings on the dirty water are:
pH: 7.5
Alk: 100
FCl: 8
TC: 2
CYA: 35

 

[reebok]

well, if it's dirt it needs to be filtered out. if it's algae you'll have to shock again. hopefully it's not algae. can you repeat you FC and CC (or TC) readings? something is incorrect. you can confirm with the overnight fc loss test.

 

[X1088LoD]

I pretty sure its just dirty water, those readings were right before I posted.

The FCl is down from around 10, and Alk down from around 135 from yesterday before the storm.

So its just a filter and time thing? How long might I anticipate the filtering to take for something like this?

 

[reebok]

your FC and TC readings can't possibly be right. FC+CC=TC and you're listing TC as 2 and FC as 8. if you could post the CC or correct TC number that would help. and I have no idea how long, but you're probably gonna have to be backwashing it a lot.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Organics were washing in with the floodwater.

You should shock the pool as if you were treating algae, until the FC holds.

Keep running the filter 24/7 and backwash as necessary.

I'm so sorry! What a shame....

The pool looked great though!

 

[Grape Ape]

I have'nt had occasion to try it yet, but is this the sort of thing that adding DE to the sand filter as mentioned in Pool School (http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/add_de_to_a_sand_filter) might clear up faster?

 

[duraleigh]

is this the sort of thing that adding DE to the sand filter as mentioned in Pool School might clear up faster?

Probably not. The DE will cause the filter to plug up quicker, causing more frequent backwashes.

The DE idea is generally best on a pool that's already fairly clean but needs perhaps a final "touch-up" A sand filter is at it's best (compared to DE or Carts) when it's asked to clean out big, coarse junk (and lots of it) from a pool.

 

[X1088LoD]

Well, its been all day, and I havent noticed THAT much difference. Maybe a slight difference but not enough for me to visibly say for sure.

Is this something that could potentially take like a week to clear up, just continual filter, backwash, filter backwash etc? Just trying to temper my expectations.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Hi again
Away for the weekend, haven't been online. Hows it looking?

 

[tgramm]

Looks like your CYA has diluted down, need to get those levels up.

But overall it looks like you have really fine soil in your area, so fine that your filter may not catch it.

If you've been running your pump 24/7 since this happend and there's not been anything to stir up the settled matter (ie vaccuming) then chances are your filter's not catching it. You can test this but vaccuming your pool on the bottom there should be a high concentration of sediment. While vaccuming look closley at your return lines in the pool, if you see cloudiness comming from them. All the filtering in the world won't get it clear.

You may want to try spiking it with DE, or changing your media to a synthetic to catch smaller particles. If you add DE, keep a close eye on your filter pressure, and back wash as needed. Reapplying DE as needed until clear.

 

[reebok]

if you choose to raise your cya level, I would do it after you're done shocking assuming you followed FPM's advice. and I personally wouldn't do it then either unless I was experiencing >2ppm daily loss with little or no use.

 

[snewo]

Welcome to my life friend. I had my second flow of dirt into my pool today. The first time was worse. I made some backyard modifications (drains and such) to protect the pool so this time wasn't as bad. Aside from the shock of the pool to protect you, here is my routine:

Put in pool cleaner.
Brush pool to the deep end drains
wait and hour
Brush pool to the deep end drains
wait and hour
Brush pool to the deep end drains

You get the idea.

I'm recovering this time way better than last (as long as my FC holds tonight). The obvious step I forgot to mention is to backwash when you're filter is full. I hope your cleanup goes well. My first one took about 4 days to look good. I'm hoping to halve that. I also took mental note of additional modifications I can make to the landscaping to further prevent this. My last changes made a serious dent.

Good Luck!

 

[snewo]

My DE filter was able to bring the pool back under control in about 24 hours (maybe about 1/5 as bad as yours is). It took 2 backwashes and 2 dumps of junk from the pool cleaner. I say add the DE to the sand filter if you're not seeing any improvement. The frequent backwashes, that might be to come from doing such a thing, could mean it's working.

Give us an update - how's it going?

 

[X1088LoD]

Ok, so its been a bit busy with work (and pool cleaning!), etc, so, havent had chance to post. So it did take alot of time.

So with the problem originally outlined in this post, I got it all cleared up. I did end up using some algaecide and shocking, to clear up the water. Then did some flocculant and let settle overnight. Once cleared, I had lots of dirt on the floors. So vacuumed out, re-balanced, etc, blah blah blah, and vwalla, a nice clean pool that I had the luxury of swimming in yesterday!

NOW! CURSES it happened again!

Overnight, it appears that my problems are not quite what I thought they were, for you see, we had some more storms move through. Not as severe as the first time through, but enough to again poor dirty water and dirt into my pool....

My assumption is that it was just the super heavy rain that did this, as I have only seen moderate rain in the new house in the mean time. I dont know how this wasnt an issue for the previous owner, but helps me understand a bit better why the pool was in such bad shape to begin with after 2 years of being empty.

So now this is turning into more of a landscaping issue. I can't go through all this trouble each time it rains, so now I need to determine how to make a "protective ridge" to force the water around to the sloping part of the yard, rather than right into my swimming pool.....

In the picture, you can see the stain on the concrete that shows where water builds up in just light general rains. The blue lines show the slope down with water buildup and runoff from the neighbors. The red indicated once the water builds up enough how it runs right down into the stairs. The red squiggles indicate my udder frustration of the dirt and dirty water flowing into the pool.

The back right corner of my yard is very very shallow. So the green indicated where a small valley is there to capitalize and run water down the side of the pool and into the shallow portion of the yard, rather than the pool itself. So I just need to build a barrier to hold back that water from heading to the pool, and instead divert it over to that little valley.

So any engineers, put your engineering caps on, cause that is my problem at the moment
Suggestions welcome as I begin working on a plan.

 

[Brad S]

Find a landscape architect and have them look at it. They can shoot some grades, etc, and see what needs to be done to divert the water. Your going to need some re-grading on the slope, maye a couple of walls, and some sort of drain system. The water problem will keep happening and will not stop until you do something about the grade in your backyard.
IMO, you need a professional to take care of this problem (i.e architect engineer, and a good landscaper to build it.

 

[Bama Rambler]

You don't have a bad situation there. At least not one that can't be fixed. Since your yard slopes like it appears to you can dig a trench around the stepend of your pool and along the left side looking at the steps. Install a grating covered U-drain along the step end and route drain pipe along the left side till it comes out of the ground. That will solve your flooding problem. You could put in a french drain but that won't take care of major water inrush.

 

[snewo]

I agree to talk to a landscaper, but off the top of my head I think the solution is:

- Build a wall where you put your blue arrows with a slight slope to the green one.
- behind the wall, but buried under the dirt have a drainage tube (the black perforated ones surrounded by stone and mesh)
- Also have 2 9X9 drains spaced along the top of the wall which connect to the black tubing.
- The only other thing that might be needed would be a small burm built on the green arrow side if the water won't naturally avoid the pool.

Then again I'm not a landscaper, just someone who has/is dealing with a similar issue.

 

[Brad S]

Snewo has it about right i think. Not sure i'd attempt DYI here, if I were you. A pro needs to look at this and design something. I've seen DYI fixes to a water problem that made it worse.

Remember, the grand canyon was dug by what started as a little trickle of water!

 

[X1088LoD]

appreciate the advice

for the meantime, I went ahead and built up a little berm along a natural ridge and dug out the existing valley sloping down around the corner (green line)

Once it is forced down around that way, I dont think there is any real danger with it heading back toward the pool, and it will follow a natural downslope to the back corner of the back yard.

I think this should be enough to prevent any thing like that again (at least on the average to above average rains). Severe super storms are another matter, but those only come along once in a while.

We also found during this an exit drain to one of the gutters buried that was coming out of that ditch and pointing directly toward the pools, so we directed that a bit better down the same ditch.

On the bright side, i am getting to be an expert at pool cleaning now, didnt take long at all this time around. :-D

 

[Brad S]

I dont want to rain on your parade, so to speak, but, that burm will only work for a little bit of water, maybe. If a burm is going to work, it needs to be measured in feet, not inches. If you get a good rain the water will break right through that and wash right back into your pool. Its a stop gap measure, but like i said, this much water and re-grading of your yard needs a pro's help. nothing short of a in-ground drain with a pipe, and probably a good retaining wall will stop your issues.