Scupper dripping after Texas freeze

[Green25]

We thankfully managed to save all of our pool equipment during the February freeze except for the booster pump. It is now on the emergency drain checklist, but immediately after it was replaced last month, we noticed the right scupper dripping almost continuously. The pool repair guy said he typically specialized in leaks and didn’t see any damage to the back wall or pipes, but it was not occurring before the repair. We’ve reached out to the company again, but they’re still swamped I assume with larger repairs.

1. Any ideas about the cause of the continuous drip?
2. Unrelated question, our PB either built our equipment pad too low or the travertine deck too high and we ended up with a basin effect. The fix was to raise the equipment pad, but we’ve been left with basically a moat around the equipment pad. Would filling with river rocks be a reasonable solution? Right now it looks like a hot mess, but I don’t want to create any additional issues.

 

[Texas Splash]

Maybe it's just me and my view onscreen, but I don't see it. Where exactly is the leak? Only started after replacing the booster pump right?

As for the pad, I think some river rocks would be just fine. Maybe place a stepping stone or two in there as well just for solid footing.

 

[Green25]

@Texas Splash - I’m not sure how to add a video of the dripping but it’s pretty much a continual drip every second or so and only on the right side. It wasn’t there before the freeze and the equipment was off for several weeks until the booster pump was replaced, but I noticed the dripping the day after the repair.

 

[Texas Splash]

@Texas Splash - I’m not sure how to add a video of the dripping but it’s pretty much a continual drip every second or so and only on the right side. It wasn’t there before the freeze and the equipment was off for several weeks until the booster pump was replaced, but I noticed the dripping the day after the repair.

I was wondering if the drip is from the scupper opening as designed or outside of the scupper? Perhaps a pipe connection in the wall, but your tech didn't find anything? If it is a pipe in the wall, it shouldn't be too long before you see signs of moisture or efflorescence. A few drops at a time may be a bit harder to diagnosis at first.

 

[Green25]

I guess we’ll try to reach out to the repair company again. This is the backside of the wall and the pipe on the right is more exposed, although we had several layers of quilts and tarp against it for protection.

 

[Texas Splash]

Yeah, I'd be curious to know what the builder learns. A drip could be such a small spot that it might require a bit of pressure test coupled with sounding plate to really pinpoint a suspected leak. But that equipment is really good.

 

[Green25]

It looks like the culprit was a small crack on the diverter section of the scupper valve. I wasn’t here and wasn’t able to talk to the repair tech, but I’m assuming this is the valve. We’re still not super familiar with how the valves work, but YouTube tells me the handle in the perpendicular position is open. Does an up vs down handle make a difference? I’ve also noticed the PVC it is attached to has an odd wrinkled texture in one spot near the “seam“. Is this normal?

 

[Texas Splash]

So the valve was damaged and not completely closing-off water to the scuppers. Okay. @mknauss can you confirm please? Not sure about the PVC, I don't see it. Perhaps a bit of cosmetic damage during install, but as long as it's not leaking should be okay.

 

[Green25]

This is the wrinkled texture I noticed. It’s not leaking, I’m just wondering if I need to anticipate it failing prematurely in the future from possible freeze damage or if this is perfectly normal.

 

[mknauss]

The waterfall valve in the picture is closed. The pool return valve is open.

 

[Green25]

We just did an experiment with the waterfall and watched how the valves turned so it’s starting to make a little more sense. As for the PVC we’ll watch it a little more closely and hope for the best.

Thanks for your help @Texas Splash and @mknauss!