Broken pipes. Symptoms?

[BauerR]

Hey all. I had my pool closed by the same company that's been doing the job for 15 years. This season I pulled the cover off and noticed 2 of return, rubber, plugs had fallen out at some point. Leaving them to fill completely with water. For how long I don't know.
We had a pretty bad winter in the Baltimore area and now I'm pretty paranoid something could be wrong. What, if any, are the signs and symptoms of a cracked underground pipe?

Thanks for your help.
Rich

 

[Richard320]

The most obvious symptom of a cracked pipe is a water leak. It will leak down to the level of the leak, so if water was above the plugs, they probably aren't leaking. They had plenty of time.

You could try a bucket test. Fill a bucket with water and set it on the steps. Mark the levels inside and outside and check again in 24 hours. They should have dropped similar amounts due to evaporation. If the pool level dropped more than the bucket, you have a leak.