It appears that rain/ground water is flowing back into pool... what is the best option?

[tuxedy]

It's been a year since we installed our pool, and though our contractor told us that the pool has a slight grade sloping away from our house, it seems very likely that during strong torrential rainfalls (happens here alot) the water from the grass is going back into the pool. The ground was slightly lower than the tile but not by much. We made the mistake in wanting the grass as flush as possible with the tile and now it seems like it is even higher than the tile now. Should we try to dig up the grass again and lower everything around the pool to bring down the grade or should we install a french drain all around the perimeter of the pool?

Basically I keep the pool according to TFP standards and regardless, whenever there is rain, like even only 3-5mm in an hour, the pool turns green and cloudy. Sunny conditions no problem, I only loose 1.5-2ppm per day of chlorine. Mind you I know there is a lot of contaminants in the air and dust, but doesn't explain why it turns green often. And sometimes it isn't really algae, as my overnight loss is usually 0-0.5. I just find myself needing to SLAM pool and run pump alot to clear after a rainstorm. Here the rain drops fast in 30 minutes at a time.

 

[Dirk]

Hey Tux! I'd say "Welcome to TFP," but it sounds like you've already been here a while. Glad to hear you "keep the pool according to TFP standards."

Both my coping and the surrounding deck slope away from my pool, all the way around. Have you put a level on the coping?l Even if the water comes off the grass, and over the edge, it still shouldn't make it to the pool. Others here know more about pool construction than I do, but if your coping is level, or sloping the wrong way into your pool, then I'd say that's a construction defect.

It might be too late to fix that, but it might not. Anything is possible. If it rains so hard there that water is pooling in the grass and overflowing the coping, then I think you're on the right track for the solution (whether you fix the coping or not). I would try the French drain first, before I tried to lower the grass. Maybe that would be enough.

But even if the water isn't overflowing the coping, if the coping is allowing water to run off into the pool, you're always going to have at least some issues. Dust and dirt and bird droppings, etc. collect on the coping. If any of that makes it into the pool, it's going to affect water quality, and clarity.

How is the relationship with the contractor? Did he give you a warranty? Do you think he'd be willing to re-set the coping, to give it a better slope?

 

[Oona]

It's been a year since we installed our pool, and though our contractor told us that the pool has a slight grade sloping away from our house, it seems very likely that during strong torrential rainfalls (happens here alot) the water from the grass is going back into the pool. The ground was slightly lower than the tile but not by much. We made the mistake in wanting the grass as flush as possible with the tile and now it seems like it is even higher than the tile now. Should we try to dig up the grass again and lower everything around the pool to bring down the grade or should we install a french drain all around the perimeter of the pool?

Basically I keep the pool according to TFP standards and regardless, whenever there is rain, like even only 3-5mm in an hour, the pool turns green and cloudy. Sunny conditions no problem, I only loose 1.5-2ppm per day of chlorine. Mind you I know there is a lot of contaminants in the air and dust, but doesn't explain why it turns green often. And sometimes it isn't really algae, as my overnight loss is usually 0-0.5. I just find myself needing to SLAM pool and run pump alot to clear after a rainstorm. Here the rain drops fast in 30 minutes at a time.

I love the color of your water-can you tell me what the finish is ?

 

[Bperry]

The far end of your pool where the coping is narrow looks like the grass is higher than level. If you get the kind of downpours we can get here then I’d say that grass will always be a problem even if the coping slopes down a bit. That much water can easily overtake that small slope and get into the pool. If the coping is sloped away from the pool, extending it out away from the pool could help as well but takes grass away.

Personally, I’d lower and slope the grass away from the pool and consider some drains right near the coping but I would leave the coping unless it’s clipped incorrectly.

 

[tuxedy]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. The pool finish is simply acrylic paint. Doesn't hold up well at all, it bubbled 2 months after being painted on. 1 year in and bubbles are everywhere, mainly near the skimline tile, and now they are popping and I can sometimes push them and see a not so pleasant algae puff sometimes.

The coping is about 40cm wide all around, and I remember seeing that the contractor had sloped it away all around. But it does not keep up with the fact the grass is now definitely higher than the coping. This grass really thickened up ( we were attempting to transplant it from when we did our septic tank) and we really should have made it significantly lower than the tile. I think the solution at the moment is to dig up the top layer of grass, scoop away a ton of soil and plop it back down with a more significant slope. I know there is a wire running where our pool light is in the ground so I need to be extra careful.