Sinkhole

[shele212]

Hi all! I’m new to this. I have 24’ above ground pool. It’s 3 years old and I noticed small sinkholes ( at least that’s what I think they’re called) in several areas. They’re a no specific pattern to them. I also felt two rocks. I’m not leaking any water. Should I be concerned and is there anyway to prevent more from occurring? We do live on a sloped lot and the pool is dug into a small hill.
We also have a deck around the back side of the pool. I thought maybe the water that collects behind the pool could be eroding the sand and soil since the water has to go somewhere. Anyone have a thought on that? Any advice or comments would be appreciated. Thanks all!

 

[Newdude]

Got pics ? Are they the same size ? Are they perfectly round, oblong, or amoeba shaped ? Only around the outside edge or in the middle too ?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Moles? Voles? Gophers like in Caddy Shack??

 

[shele212]

So I haven’t seen any animal hills anywhere and we have had voles in the front (years ago), so I’ve seen those.
I can’t really take pics of the divots, because I can only feel them. They are all over the pool floor. A couple are about an inch or two deep and maybe 3-4 inches in diameter. Some along the deep end feel longer and not round. They are in the middle and outside edge (about 4-6 inches from the edge). They are new this year.

 

[shele212]

Got pics ? Are they the same size ? Are they perfectly round, oblong, or amoeba shaped ? Only around the outside edge or in the middle too ?

I can’t really take pics of the divots, because I can only feel them. They are all over the pool floor. A couple are about an inch or two deep and maybe 3-4 inches in diameter. Some along the deep end feel longer and not round. They are in the middle and outside edge (about 4-6 inches from the edge). They are new this year.

 

[Mdragger88]

Do you see any evidence of anything burrowing around the outside of the pool? (Insects or animals)
If you have a drainage problem you should get that fixed. All water should run away from the pool.

 

[Newdude]

It sounds fairly normal as most pools with sand bases get divots. I bet you would have noticed them alot sooner if you had a pool light.

 

[shele212]

Do you see any evidence of anything burrowing around the outside of the pool? (Insects or animals)
If you have a drainage problem you should get that fixed. All water should run away from the pool.

No evidence of burrowing anywhere. I’m just concerned about all the water that collects under the deck in the back of the pool. I’m wondering if that is the problem. Do you have any suggestions on how to divert the water that collects there? It’s all dirt and mud under the deck.

 

[Mdragger88]

No evidence of burrowing anywhere. I’m just concerned about all the water that collects under the deck in the back of the pool. I’m wondering if that is the problem. Do you have any suggestions on how to divert the water that collects there? It’s all dirt and mud under the deck.

The ground should be sloped away from the pool area on all sides of the pool - if water collects you may need a french drain or something to send the water where it should go.

 

[kellyfair]

Keep in mind that you have thousands and thousands of pounds of water sitting there - so unless you have a serious drainage problem, I’d be surprised if your base was washing out.

What kind of pool is this? Did you install yourself or have an installer do it? How was the soil dug out and leveled?

I came running into this thread - as a Floridian, the word “sinkhole” caused me great concern!

 

[shele212]

Keep in mind that you have thousands and thousands of pounds of water sitting there - so unless you have a serious drainage problem, I’d be surprised if your base was washing out.

What kind of pool is this? Did you install yourself or have an installer do it? How was the soil dug out and leveled?

I came running into this thread - as a Floridian, the word “sinkhole” caused me great concern!

24ft above ground with 5 ft deep end. It was installed by a professional. They dug the hill and base out, laid down filtered sand and leveled it. The property slopes down and is graded. The only thing I’m worried about is how much water sits at the back wall of the pool when it rains, the snow melts or when there’s a lot of splashing. It just collects back there and it does eventually absorb but I was trying to convince my husband to put in a French drain and stone to help prevent so much pooling and help get the water to drain around the pool. My goal was to ask everyone on here and prove I’m right.
The “sinkholes” for lack of a better term are new this year. It’s my first pool and I’m just not sure if it’s normal to have so many areas that are clearly not flat like they used to be. And the new rocks I can feel under the liner also worry me, although, I’m not sure if they should or not. Everything worries me because it was a lot of money and it’s a lot of water! I want to make sure we are taking care of it properly.

 

[shele212]

Water collects her behind the pool. It does run to the right some but mostly just sits here until it’s absorbed. I dislike it a lot! I feel like it’s too much water and it looks to me like it’s causing an issue. I’m not an expert so I can’t be certain.

 

[Mdragger88]

That area at the very least should be built up so that it slopes away from the pool.
If its a decent amount of run off you should definitely put a french drain as well as the slope will just get washed away otherwise (ask me how I know…)