A way to save water

[tstex]

Hello to all,

Again, hope everyone and their families had a great thanksgiving.

This may not apply to all, but those that have pool water drains located near the water-line, this has helped me from having to add fill water. I put a piece of gorilla tape over the lower 3/4 portion of the drain. which allows the pool to fill up another 1+ inch. There's still a sm area at the top that allows for very slow water release, but keeps the pool much higher, I have not had to add water in over month or so. Granted the evap rate is a lot less in the fall/winter, but it still works great. If we are expecting a 2-5" rain, I would remove it. But, that has not been the case for quite awhile.

I cannot think of any downside, but if you do, pls advise.

Have a great rest of the week,
tstex

 

[Toxophilite]

Maybe skimmer action is impeded a bit, but I'm sure folks without an overflow drain already practice this by simply not draining down their pool every time it rains, letting evaporation level it back, especially during the off season when not in use.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Tx,

I kind of do this at the pool end.

I have a drain in the tile line that has a little grate cover. I glued a piece of PVC inside the grate so that it closes off the bottom half.

We have gotten several huge rainfalls since I did this, and the pool water has never gotten to the bottom of the coping.

I doubt it has 'saved' me any water, but it does allow me to go a little longer between refills.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[tstex]

Hello Jim.

Good idea. I would say if it's saving you time between refills, it's saving you water. Mine is covered more than yours so my water line is a bit higher, thus even more time btw refills. Also, it's been less windy and sunny over X last weeks, so that too has contributed to longer water retention.

 

[Toxophilite]

Savings would be easy to compute. We get average 50" of rain per year. If I blocked off 1/2" of my overflow, I've saved 2-feet of water per year that didn't come from my well. Not much for me. Actually, far less, as we don't get that 50" in uniform rain periods. Right now, for days, my overflow is working double time.