rain and runoff

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piggyfarmers

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Apr 6, 2010
24
hurricane deep south
how i can simplify the worry of rain filling up my indoor pool since i have a screened top?

there are drains outside the border of the pool, but i'm wondering if there is something i can rig so that i don't panic and have to set to waste when there is a storm in the middle of the night....and possibly leave town one day.....

off to do more searching and reading :eek:)
 
There's really nothing to worry about. The amount of water will be the same as there would be if you had a flat concrete patio in place of the pool. It takes 6 inches of rain to raise the pool water level 6 inches. The only downside to heavy rains is chemical dilution, which can leave you with too little chlorine and lead to algae. But dilution can be good too.

In short, don't worry about it. If the water gets so high that the skimmer suction is reduced, just pump some out the next day.
 
I find that my skimmer works best with the water 1/4 to 1/3 up the skimmer opening which leaves me room for a good 4 inches of rain before I need to worry about overflow. That is a lot of rain even here in Seattle.
 
john t and grapeape, thanks for the replies. i know i bought a problem child-monster, and i need to learn everything i can.

hmm. what i'm worried about is actual flooding of the pool house living area during hurricane season and odd winter storms. it IS alot to make 6 inches a night. the reason i'm concerned is because the sides and astroturf they laid on the surround was covered with a layer of dried algae (i'm still working on getting every bit out of it). the living area is a few inches taller than the pool surround. i've been working to make the surround drains work as well as possible. but i'd rather the water never go over the sides. it feels wrong to even admit such ridiculousness. this is where i know i have an embarrassment of riches, but let me be clear it is a serious fixer upper of riches.

there are links to my pool on my intro.
 
at least i figured the current system of dealing with flooding:
there is a grey pvc pipe near the edge (far right) and sticks out of the surround a few feet away. then the water puddles it's way to the drain (obscured by the hose). there are 7 drains that are 9 inches deep and all horizontally connected and sluggish.

not my favorite, but better than nothing. reading abt record rainfalls helps....sorta.

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btw i was able to get some of the black off the tile with epsom salts along with the blue rust.
 
As long as the turf is sloped away from the house towards the pool, when the pool overflows, it should follow the trough to where ever it drains now. If it collects or puddles during a rain storm, then that could be an issue. You could also use the hose to see how well a large amount of water will drain away.

Also, once filled to the top, a 45' x 20' pool will need to drain 560 gallons per hour for every inch/hour of rain.
 
!!! thank you so much mas985 for that calculation !!! can you tell me how you approached that?

now i can work towards a theoretical idea of what we can handle and work with the drain. my property has excellent drainage for my locale but yes, right now the drain tends to puddle. i have been flooded before from a tropical storm so i do not underestimate the powers of rain.....floods do not leave easily.
 
There are 7.48 gallons of water in a cubic foot. So for 1" of water falling on the pool surface is:

45 * 20 * 1 / 12 * 7.48 = 561 gallons

It will be more that this because the patio will also collect water but I didn't know the surface area of that.

Water will usually collect is certain spots but in most cases when enough collects, it will drain in some direction. Has water ever entered the house due to flooding? I would think that if the water got deep enough it would eventually drain to the sides before entering the home.

But if you are still concerned about it, then you could put together a simple overflow using a bucket and hose. The top of the bucket would need to be below the top of the pool so when the pool fills up, the bucket will overflow first in a location where it is ok to do so. Partially fill the bucket with water and set up a siphon between the pool and bucket. The bucket should then fill up to the level of the pool and stop. When the pool level rises, the bucket level will rise with it and then overflow if too much water gets in the pool. This would be a temporary setup but might allow you to sleep at night. However, I still think that if enough water falls on the pool and patio, it should drain away from the house.
 
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