Digging around pool for leak

[Esand323]

Hi all,


I posted about this in another thread about trying to find a leak, and now I have sort of found it. I gently dug about around some of the plumbing and hit some standing water about 16" below the surface.



This is right under my concrete pool deck. The concrete pool deck is only 3 feet wide.



I'm planning to dig out a bit more and see if I can expose the plumbing a bit more and find the source of the leak. Still trying to narrow down if it is the skimmer, return, or main drain. We only have 1 of each.

Is it a bad idea to continue to dig? I figured it's a possibility that the concrete above my collapse a bit, but they are going to take that out anyways to get to the leak, so I suppose it wouldn't be awful. I'm more concerned about the pool wall potentially collapsing outward. I know the concern is usually having a pool wall collapse inward when it's drained, but i feel like it would be easy for it to collapse outward as well. Just not sure if I'm going to create a lot more problems for myself or not.

Thanks!

 

[kimkats]

I would worry about a person's safety from the dirt and concrete. I would look into getting some plywood and 2x4 to shore everything up to keep the pool and people safe.