Natural rock waterfall leaking!

[AnthonyJ]

Hi all. Bought this house in March. The pool and water features were built in 2006. I’ve noticed that it’s been leaking a lot. Like, I’m adding 120lb of salt a month and my water bill is sky high due to autofill. I had two reputable pool leak detection companies pressure test the piping and everything and they concluded that it must be leaking from the waterfall. I’ve noticed some grout missing between many of the rocks. What is a suitable product to patch the missing grout? I called a few pool companies and they are just too busy to do repairs. Thank you for any suggestions

 

[mknauss]

Can you turn the water fall off? It should not be run all the time regardless.

 

[darkrider]

Typically, the grout/mortar on waterfalls is not built to seal, but rather to keep the rocks in place. There should be a liner underneath all of the rock, which is what actually seals. I agree that the waterfall shouldn't be running all the time though, and turning it off will at least give you an indication of whether or not that's truly where your leak is coming from.

 

[AnthonyJ]

The waterfall (my filter pump) is on 8 hours a day. I can adjust a valve so that water doesn’t go through the waterfall but instead through the returns, but I really like the waterfall and how it sounds. It just sucks that the water seems to be magically disappearing behind the rocks. What can I use to fill in the gaps? Even if it doesn’t fix the leaking (I’m sure it will help), it’s be nice to fill in the holes for aesthetic purposes

 

[tommelton]

We have a pondless waterfall in our back yard next to where the pool is being constructed. It runs 24x7x365. During the winter we never have to add water, during the hot Georgia summer, we may have to add water every two weeks to keep adequate levels in the underground chambers. Yo may be surprised how much loss there can be in the Florida heat, depending how large your waterfall area is, the amount of surface area of the waterfall, the number of actual "falls", etc. IE, you may not have an actual leak.

 

[AnthonyJ]

We have a pondless waterfall in our back yard next to where the pool is being constructed. It runs 24x7x365. During the winter we never have to add water, during the hot Georgia summer, we may have to add water every two weeks to keep adequate levels in the underground chambers. Yo may be surprised how much loss there can be in the Florida heat, depending how large your waterfall area is, the amount of surface area of the waterfall, the number of actual "falls", etc. IE, you may not have an actual leak.

I’m sure a lot of the water lost is due to evaporation, but I have to add almost a bag of salt a week to stay above 2500. Salt doesn’t evaporate with the water

 

[PoolGate]

If you can't see wetness where you want to grout, then grout isn't going to help. Yes turn it off and see if the water loss stops. How are you managing your ph? I have to think you're going through 2 plus gallons of acid a week running the waterfall 8 hours a day.

 

[AnthonyJ]

If you can't see wetness where you want to grout, then grout isn't going to help. Yes turn it off and see if the water loss stops. How are you managing your ph? I have to think you're going through 2 plus gallons of acid a week running the waterfall 8 hours a day.

I’m certain it’s leaking behind the rocks. I left my main pump on for 24 hours, turned off the autofill and my infinity edge catch basin was empty the next day. The pipes were tested and are fine. I’m using a cup or two of acid a week and my PH is consistently 7.5-7.6. I’m just asking if anyone has any idea of which product to use to regrout the rocks. Is there a specific type for pools?

 

[PoolGate]

The mortar is the same as any mortar. I don't think this will fix your leak though. And if you're not seeing the water that's leaking I hope it's not forming a sinkhole.