Pool levels falling after partial (2/3) drain and refill of pebbletec pool

[sdrilling]

Hello -- Hope someone can shed some light on this new issue with our pool. A couple weeks ago we partially drained (2/3) our pebbletec pool and refilled it. After we refilled it we had a multi-day rain and the water levels were MORE than adequate.

The temps here near Atlanta are 26 - 38 at night and we have had plenty of rain.

Husband and I noticed today the water level is below the skimmers. This has not happed before. We are adding water today and will be keeping a very close eye

Could we have cracked something when we did the drain? Any suggestions on how to trouble shoot?

 

[Texas Splash]

Not sure how you would've cracked anything during the drain. Curious though, what was the draining for? Lower CYA or CH? As for the unexplained water drop, start easy. Since it started following the draining, check your multiport valve to ensure it's fully seated and not still draining to waste by mistake. Sometimes the MVP can get stuck or the spider gasket inside pinched a bit. Has it dried out enough around the pool area to notice if there are any unusual wet spots?

 

[tstex]

sdrilling

Can you pls provide a bit more accurate timeframe to when the water levels starting going down after the drain and complete refill, and anything you did to the pool during and after this process? And, when you noticed the water below skimmers, when was the last time you saw the waterline normal?

As Pat said, check the basics at the equipment pad. when you drained your pool, was the soil around the pool area already saturated? W a 34K gal pool, that's a lot of water, but what are your pool measurements and depths?

good luck, tstex

 

[sdrilling]

sdrilling

Can you pls provide a bit more accurate timeframe to when the water levels starting going down after the drain and complete refill, and anything you did to the pool during and after this process? And, when you noticed the water below skimmers, when was the last time you saw the waterline normal?

As Pat said, check the basics at the equipment pad. when you drained your pool, was the soil around the pool area already saturated? W a 34K gal pool, that's a lot of water, but what are your pool measurements a depths?

good luck, tstex

We partially drained the pool due to high CYA. We still need to partially drain again as our CYA is still 83 after the first attempt.

The pool looked fine the last time we took a close look at it back on December 4th. The pool is about 100 feet from the back of the house and I have several renovation projects going on with contractors all over the place so to be honest I haven't been paying attention to the pool other than emptying the skimmer baskets of leaves every other day. Today I was back there all afternoon and that is when I noticed the water was below the skimmers and about an two inches below the overflow. The last time I looked on 12/4 the water was even with the overflow and about 2 inches above the bottom of the skimmer. We have had rain several times since 12/4.

The equipment pad looks fine and is as dry as expected with our weather.

My husband and I have refilled the pool back to exactly the bottom of the overflow and will be keeping a close eye for the next few days.

 

[JamesW]

Can you describe how you drained the pool?

I would suspect that the hydrostatic relief valve got pulled open by suction if you used the main drain.

Can you see the waste line to verify that the line is not leaking?

 

[sdrilling]

On Thursday we filled the pool exactly to the bottom of the white overflow square. It rained heavily on Friday and parts of Saturday. It sprinkled on and off today Sunday.

My husband checked the pool and we are exactly two inches BELOW the white overflow square.

The pool company used a submersible pump to drain the pool approximately 25000/34000 gallons or so. . I know the top half was completely dry and the water was only in the deep end.

The timing was the end of November. The temps dropped below freezing dur the process and I kept asking if everything would be okay. I was told our pumps would remain on during to keep things from freezing. I remember something about the skimmers being off and something set to the main drain.

We are praying there is a simple answer to this problem. Our new home is a contender for the money pit and a pool leak would be painful to deal with at this time.

 

[JamesW]

I'm thinking that the hydrostatic relief valve got pulled open by suction in the main drain. That's what I would check.

If the main drain is the only suction and it gets covered by debris like leaves, the suction in the main drain can get high enough to open the hydrostatic relief valve.

Usually, it will reclose on its own but it can get stuck open.

Can you see the waste line to make sure that it's not leaking?

 

[tstex]

Sorry to hear your are experiencing a lot of issues at once, esp the home too.

First, how old is your pool and when was it built?

Next, try filling the pool again to normal levels and make sure your FC levels are buffered 2-3ppm above normal. then, turn off all the pumps and take measurement right after it's full and pumps are off. If you do not have any noticeable loss the next day, then it's not a leak via the pool [drain, skimmers, etc].

Now, fire-up the pump in the early evening and noting prior to this if your water levels are still ok. Program your filter pump to run on high speeds from 5pm-10pm, periodically checking the water levels. If you them notice your water going down, you have a leak in your lines either your suction or return lines. if you water level goes down the night before when no pump is on, then you have a leak probably in one of your skimmers.

James/Pat, thoughts on this process ? [note, I'm going w ruling out the MP-Valve is bad since it was already ruled out...but, w it being a wet as noted, could be a possible issue.

Keep us posted and hopefully all the house issues will be remedied soon and your pool problem is resolved qkly too