Replacing 50% Water In El Dorado County, CA

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Depends on your water company and how your sewer charges are compiled. Some places use water use to charge for sewer. If yours is that way, many times they allow a variance for a pool fill.
 
Check out the other link below. Your water company sets sewer rates based on water consumption during the winter quarter. It looks like the quarter ends with your February meter read. Take a close look, but I think you'll be safe to refill after the February read.

 
Thanks, everyone, for all the info.

I am draining half of a 27,000 gallon pool to get my CYA levels down. According to my last bill dated Feb 10, 2020, I am a C1 cycle, and the period for the bill is for Dec 4, 2019 through Feb 4, 2020. Does that mean my February "read" is done, and I'm good to go without sewer surcharge, or whatever it's called? I hope so, because I started siphoning this morning. If anyone thinks my February read means I should wait for my March bill, I'd really appreciate hearing from you.

On that note, even using two siphon streams using two parallel garden hose runs into my sever clean out, the pool has only dropped MAYBE 2" in 5 hours. I'm not even down to the bottom of the skimmers! How long will this to drop 3 feet? I guess the good news is if anyone thinks I should stop draining because my Ferbruart read has not been done yet, it's not like I need to add water to run my pool pump.

Thanks again, everyone.
 
I assume you are not in an area of Sacramento that has a high water table. Draining would be detrimental if you are. Sub pumps are the best to use to drain. For a quick drain, rent a gas powered one at Home Depot. To have one on hand, for the same cost, buy a 1/2 hp one at Harbor Freight or through Amazon.

Do you have your own test kit? How did you determine the level of CYA in your water?
 
Not the original poster but I am in the area, he's probably kind of in the hills, plus we've had no rain in like over a month :( February has been abnormally dry. Looks like we're in for another drought. ?
 
mknauss said:
I assume you are not in an area of Sacramento that has a high water table. Draining would be detrimental if you are. Sub pumps are the best to use to drain. For a quick drain, rent a gas powered one at Home Depot. To have one on hand, for the same cost, buy a 1/2 hp one at Harbor Freight or through Amazon.

Do you have your own test kit? How did you determine the level of CYA in your water?
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I have a Taylor kit I used to test CYA (visible black dot). FWIW, I used pool store chlorine pucks for 20 years. That should tell you right there that my CYA is over 100! :-(

I am in El Dorado Hills, just above Folsom Lake. I don't think I have a high water table, and I'm a few houses away from the top of a sloped area. But, just to be safe I am planning on only draining 1/2 the pool. Am I OK using a slower method like siphoning the way I'm doing it, or is it dangerous to have a lower water level in the pool for as long as it will take for the siphons to do their job, and the subsequent refill? The guy across the street drained his pool dry and resurfaced it a couple of years ago, so I think I'm safe, but if someone thinks otherwise, please speak up soon.

Also, what do people in such an area do when they have high CYA levels, if it's detrimental to the pool to do a partial drain?
 
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The max reading on the standard CYA test is 100. You can get a better idea of your true CYA by doing a diluted test. Use 50% pool water and 50% tap water. Double the results shown on your CYA tube.

A slow drain is fine and you're most likely safe draining 1/2 the pool. One risk is allowing the plaster to dry and leaving it exposed to sunlight/heat. Try to mist the exposed plaster during the drain. The risk is probably minimal this time of year but, here in So Cal, we're expecting temps in the mid-80s this week. If it were my pool, I would spring for a submersible pump. It's gonna take some time to drain 13,000 gallons siphoning with two garden hoses. You can get an idea of the flow rate for each hose by timing how long it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket and converting to gallons/per/hour. If I recall correctly, when I used hoses to siphon (in addition to a sub-pump), the flow rate was about 100 GPH per hose.

Call the water company to confirm whether the February meter-read is done.

You can also do a "No Drain Water Exchange" as described below.

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
Rancho Cost-a-Lotta said:
The max reading on the standard CYA test is 100. You can get a better idea of your true CYA by doing a diluted test. Use 50% pool water and 50% tap water. Double the results shown on your CYA tube.
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I did do the 50% version of the test, twice.

A slow drain is fine and you're most likely safe draining 1/2 the pool. One risk is allowing the plaster to dry and leaving it exposed to sunlight/heat. Try to mist the exposed plaster during the drain. The risk is probably minimal this time of year but, here in So Cal, we're expecting temps in the mid-80s this week.
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We're only touching the high 60's here. I am counting my blessings that my timing seems to be good.

If it were my pool, I would spring for a submersible pump. It's gonna take some time to drain 13,000 gallons siphoning with two garden hoses. You can get an idea of the flow rate for each hose by timing how long it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket and converting to gallons/per/hour. If I recall correctly, when I used hoses to siphon (in addition to a sub-pump), the flow rate was about 100 GPH per hose.
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I was going to go out and get a submersible pump, but my neighbor just lent me a hose, so now I have 3. The problem I anticpated having with a submersible pump was that I need to run 100 ft., and if the hose they come with isn't long enough, now, what? The other thing I was reading about was how you can put too much GPH into your sewer cleanout and cause issues. Don't know for sure about either of these issues, but now that the 3rd hose is in there, it's draining quite well.

Call the water company to confirm whether the February meter-read is done.
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I asked another neighbor and he said they won't do another read for 3 mos., so I think I'm good on that end.

You can also do a "No Drain Water Exchange" as described below.

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
Click to expand...
I will read up on this to see if I should do this.

Thanks for all the feedback and input. Keep it coming. Knowledge is power. :)
 
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We just had our plaster done over last summer and had to drain our 13k gal pool (exactly what you need to drain!) They used a submersible pump with a garden hose attached to it and ran it from the backyard to the front yard sewer cleanout. It took about 8 or 9 hours I think. I kept an eye on it at first to make sure nothing was backing up, but it was fine.
 
ManiacalMama said:
We just had our plaster done over last summer and had to drain our 13k gal pool (exactly what you need to drain!) They used a submersible pump with a garden hose attached to it and ran it from the backyard to the front yard sewer cleanout. It took about 8 or 9 hours I think. I kept an eye on it at first to make sure nothing was backing up, but it was fine.
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I think I remember you helping me out on another thread last year when I battled black algae with high CYA levels and the subsequent talk that ensued about draining my pool.

My CYA levels are unreadable even in the 50% dilution method, however, I followed the instructions on this forum to raise my chlorine level to match a 100 CYA level pool (no SLAM) and the black algae went away. I played with the minimum chlorine level for a bit and found that as long as I maintained AT LEAST the minimum chlorine level for a 80 level pool, I would remain algae free. This meant dosing the pool at a minimum every other day, sometimes even twice in one day, which initially wasn't all that bad, but over time proved to be a real PITA. You can't take vacations or even weekend getaways cause chlorine would drop too fast. So, I figured it was time to change water, especially since I moved into this 1992 build in 1999, when I continued using chlorine tabs and shock, just like the previous owner, and have never changed water because I didn't know you were supposed to.

Currently, the pool level after 22 hours is down to nearly half, which is what I was aiming for. The big increase in draining came when I added a 3rd hose 8 hours after I started with 2. That increased my drain rate by 50% right there. Based on my unreadable CYA levels, I am now tossing the idea of changing 2/3. But, my experience with chlorine levels and the CYA/chlorine chart tell me I should be fine at half.

Does anyone know if CYA mixes evenly in the water column? I ask, because if it does, then I can just stop at half, and if necessary to another small partial drain later. I think it must mix evenly, otherwise we wouldn't be able to measure it with a simple little vial sample, but perhaps some of you more experienced forum members could help shed some light on this, and perhaps add some additional thoughts to my situation.

Thank you, as always!

P. S. BTW, does anyone know why I am no longer receiving emails when someone replies to a thread on which I posted? I haven't changed anything in my preferences. I see notification for conversation messages is set. Do I need to turn on notification for content, too? And, yes, I checked my spam folder. I could have sworn I used to get notications for topics in which I became involved.
 
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Yeah it will mix evenly in the water column...just run your pumps after you get it filled.

Howdy, I'm in Orangevale.. I run my siphons in the winter to offset the winter rains to my sewer cleanout.. it just runs under the foundation and out to the street. I figured its good to get a good flushing anyway. I do put a screen over it so nothing else will sneak in the pipe... like the one year the kids let a wiffle ball get stuck in the lines!
 
MrLeadFoot said:
I think I remember you helping me out on another thread last year when I battled black algae with high CYA levels and the subsequent talk that ensued about draining my pool.

My CYA levels are unreadable even in the 50% dilution method, however, I followed the instructions on this forum to raise my chlorine level to match a 100 CYA level pool (no SLAM) and the black algae went away. I played with the minimum chlorine level for a bit and found that as long as I maintained AT LEAST the minimum chlorine level for a 80 level pool, I would remain algae free. This meant dosing the pool at a minimum every other day, sometimes even twice in one day, which initially wasn't all that bad, but over time proved to be a real PITA. You can't take vacations or even weekend getaways cause chlorine would drop too fast. So, I figured it was time to change water, especially since I moved into this 1992 build in 1999, when I continued using chlorine tabs and shock, just like the previous owner, and have never changed water because I didn't know you were supposed to.

Currently, the pool level after 22 hours is down to nearly half, which is what I was aiming for. The big increase in draining came when I added a 3rd hose 8 hours after I started with 2. That increased my drain rate by 50% right there. Based on my unreadable CYA levels, I am now tossing the idea of changing 2/3. But, my experience with chlorine levels and the CYA/chlorine chart tell me I should be fine at half.

Does anyone know if CYA mixes evenly in the water column? I ask, because if it does, then I can just stop at half, and if necessary to another small partial drain later. I think it must mix evenly, otherwise we wouldn't be able to measure it with a simple little vial sample, but perhaps some of you more experienced forum members could help shed some light on this, and perhaps add some additional thoughts to my situation.

Thank you, as always!

P. S. BTW, does anyone know why I am no longer receiving emails when someone replies to a thread on which I posted? I haven't changed anything in my preferences. I see notification for conversation messages is set. Do I need to turn on notification for content, too? And, yes, I checked my spam folder. I could have sworn I used to get notications for topics in which I became involved.
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Ahh yess, I remember now. I'm glad you were able to get your black algae under control. LOL we had to basically blow up our pool to do that!
I remember we were talking about water rates before. I don't remember if I ever came back and updated how much it cost me to refill our pool, but our water bill for that month was only $160. We had a pool plumbing leak fixed too when we had the pool replastered and so our regular monthly water bill has came down A LOT.

I think you're safe to just go ahead and refill your pool, give it a couple days to mix, and then test that CYA; if you were truly at about 100ppm then 50 is probably a goodish spot to be. I've accidentally gotten mine up to 60 which wasn't too bad, just had to keep FC a bit higher. I'm pretty sure ours was probably about 100 when we first took over the pool and it gradually came down either naturally or with water displacement (the previous leak).

I've never used pucks, but was thinking maybe I'd run my CYA lower this year so that I can throw some in a floater this summer when we go on vacation.
 
OK, the draining finished in 30 hours, and the refill was done when I woke up this moring. I seriously can't believe how much clearer the water appears to be, even though it didn't look cloudy prior to the change. In any event, I have not yet added any chemicals to the refreshed water, figuring I'd let the pump mix it up for a while before checking levels. I was, however, quite surprised at how much I could smell chlorine quite distinctly in the new water.

Will a 6 hour run of the pump be long enough for me to get accurate results with my Taylot kit? I ask because I only have enough for 1 or 2 more CYA level tests. For that matter, should I indeed test CYA first before I do anything else, or should I add a gallon of chlorine today (just to have something in the water), then let it go for a day or two before testing CYA?

Thoughts and suggestions are most welcome.
 
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Yes they are! My GSD is very well trained, but the BM is/was a nightmare while a puppy, she has settled a bit more. We are not as active as she is, but makes up in loyalty and love. They are great swimmers, the BM can hold her breath for about 10 seconds underwater. She is amazing.

Water turnover is a myth. Mixing is quite fast. Remember you dont need to push water, you just need the ions to balance in a body of water.
 

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