Filling new pool with well water?

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GinaDecor

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Jun 20, 2011
17
We are getting close to completion on our inground vinyl liner pool. It is a big one. 50' x 32' - 24' free form depth 9' to 42" with bonus shallow cove., roughly 45,000 gallons.
Our contractor told me I need to line up my water hauling. This is another $2000 I hoped we could avoid. His reasoning is that our well water will take to long and the water will smell like sulphur. Any opinions?
 
I think that the primary issue with the well water quality would be metals. Sulfur smell is caused by hydrogen sulfide, which can be shocked into elemental sulfur and sulfates.

Unless there are very high levels of hydrogen sulfide, then the sulfur should not be too much trouble.

What is the fill rate from the well? Do you know what the copper and iron concentrations are in the water?
 
You might line up a 1/2 fill with trucks if the iron, copper, and sediments are too high.

The 1/2 fill will allow the liner crew to cut in the steps and light(s) and shut the liner vacuum off so as not to disturb your sleep or that of your neighbors. After that, how long it takes is how long it takes.

Scott
 
I don't know the quality of our well water, and hadn't considered the wear on our pump. It would be nice to start with clean city water since we are late in the season and want to start enjoying it right away! Did I mention it was 101 here in St. Louis today?


Thanks!

I will try to post photos.
 
Gina,

I too have a well and was wanting to fill with the well water. For me the metals were not a problem but the water was extremely hard. The TA and CH were both off the chart. You may want to go ahead and invest in the TF-100 test kit and at least you would know what you are dealing with. I can go with a 60/40 of city/ well water and be ok. You will need the test kit anyway.

Greenhaw
 
The stuff about wear on a pump is hype, in most cases, unless you have a really deep well or a small pump. We refilled our 40,000 gallon painted steel pool from a 70-foot deep artesian well every year from 1950 to 2003. Same pump. Same well. 53 years, 54 fills (one year we did it twice due to a broken drain valve) and no problems.

Our water is metal free and actually tests as too soft for drinking, I was surprised to learn after drinking it all my life. It requires both baking soda and calcium at startup--although I didn't worry about either until we switched to a plaster pool in 2004. Water like that is uncommon from wells, and around here it means you live up in the hills and not down in the flats. But you don't know what you have until you test.
 
Durk.. (H's name is Dirk... hehe)...

Pumps from the 50's... lol don't you know they actually made them in the US back then? Forged steel even... now nearly everything is cast and manufactured elsewhere with unknown materials/methods. Most of the pump manufacturers have fled the states by now, it's near impossible to get a pump nowdays with enough US made materials in it to qualify for government specs. Brass is another story... US brass is virtually unheard of anymore.

Of course that pump worked great for eons! Great Grandpa made it, lol
 

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I have a well and a deep one at that, 186ft. Filled to the top with water. NO WAY would I fill my pool from it. IF it did run dry you are looking at about 5,000 to 10,000 dollars to drill a new one. Also, pumps aren't built like they used to be. Mine was 6 years old. Came home one night last month from work... NO WATER. Pump died. $1800 for a new one and the plumber... Why take the risk. Yea it might turn out ok... but then again... it might not.
 
I have a new well drilled in 2003. I just filled my 30000 + gal pool from that. It took 21 hrs. My water is hard but the pool people said it was "really good" water. It is 260' deep with the water at 60'. Comparing my electrical use from normal to the 21 hr it was filling the cost came to approx $100.
 
Well if it costs $2000 dollars to have water trucked in, and there's an extremely thin chance your pump might give up the ghost and cost you $1800, well isn't it a no-brainer? The only risks I see with using the well water (of any consequence) are over use ( where you draw in sediments from the surrounding water table) and the obvious, metal contamination. So fill the pool slowly and keep an eye on the turbidity of the water, let the well recover if you notice any, and treat for metals in the usual ways (usually sequestrant in the US).
 
Thanks everyone.
It is a vinyl liner pool and my pool contractor states he does not want to hang around for days waiting for my pool to fill, and risk getting wrinkles in the liner. (drama-queen) ! I think we will end up supplementing with well water as the trucks bring in most of the water.
 
Our well is 456' deep with water beginning at 220' and produces sulfur water, common here. We had water trucked in to fill our pool, accepting it as part of the overall setup and construction expense.

We use the well water to refill as needed. The hydrogen sulfide is neutralized by the chlorine in the pool so there is no smell. We run the well water for an hour max to avoid depleting the well and haven't had any problems.

I would not fill an entire pool from a well because it would take way too long and would likely result in wrinkles. Your plan to start with trucked in water and supplementing with well water is sound.
 
I think you're making the right decision about having the water trucked in. All wells are not created equal and unless you know that your well can handle it and that it doesn't have metals in it, you're doing the right thing.
 
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