Water coming out from underneath equipment pad?

[cratica]

A couple of weeks ago I noticed water was starting to pool at the corner of the concrete pad where the pool equipment is. I can't see anything leaking on the pad and it appears as though the water is coming from under the pad which if true will really stink. How do I find out where the water (leak) is coming from? I turned the pump off and sure enough, shortly afterwards the water disappeared. Turn it on and it starts pooling again. Who can help this sort of thing (plumber, pool person, ?) I shutter at hiring a pool person because I had one out just to give me an estimate on replacing both the pool light and the spa light and they wanted around $3500. (Was thinking it was a $100 fix). Anyhoo, I need to get this leak fixed but want to do a little investigation on my own.

I also noticed that when the pump turns off, the water in the spa will slowly drain into the pool. I did a little research on that and it seems to suggest replacing the "check valve". Does that seem like a good place to start?

Thanks much for any help!

 

[HermanTX]

Welcome to TFP.
Pipes are usually not run under the pad but water can migrate away from where the leak is actually happening.
Some photos of your pad and where you are seeing the leak will be helpful. Also show photos of the plumbing leading to the pump if that is where the check valve is.
I assume you are not the owner who built the pool. However, if that is incorrect, do you have any photos during the construction phase?

 

[Jimrahbe]

c,

We need to see some pics...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[cratica]

Ok thank you for replying. No, not the original owner. I will take photos and post them tomorrow.

 

[cratica]

Here are photos. The source of the leak at ground level appears right in the area where the two grey conduits are entering the ground between the pool equipment pad and the house. It then runs down and has created a little pool by the sprinkler head. There is no water on the equipment pad. The was stops coming out and it will dry up if I turn the pool pump off.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

I had a leak under my pad years ago (due to sub-par work by my pool builder). It's not the end of the world but it may take some effort to assemble the right workers for the job.

They will probably need to jackhammer the pad, fix the leak (which should then be obvious), and re-pour the concrete. This can be done in a single day if you are able to hire the right crew.

 

[Jimrahbe]

C,

The only logical place for the water to come from would be the drain plug that is on the back side of your filter. Or maybe a crack in the filter.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[cratica]

There is no water on, under, or around the filter unfortunately.

 

[HermanTX]

There is no water on, under, or around the filter unfortunately.

The return pipes to the pool are furthest away from the 2 gray conduits (which holds the wiring for your lights) at the back of the pad. What may be helpful is to tell us where is the pool in relation to the pad? It is to the left of the heater or is it to the right of the pump or straight back from the pad? Trying to understand where the underground pumps are leading to pool.

If you see water form when the pump is on, that indicates the leak should be on the pressure side of the pump - the filter, the heater or the return pipes. But other than the filter, the heater and the return pipes are farther away from the water formation.

Couple of things to try
The photo shows the system is in Pool Mode - suction and return to the pool. Put it in Spa Mode (suction and return to the spa) to determine if you still see the water formation in that back area. Trying to rule out one set of pipes.

Second thing would be to just turn the suction valve to open the spa suction but keep return to the pool. You can do this for a couple of minutes as it will start to drain your spa but it will help rule out if a leak is happening from the suction side.

Depending on the results of the above, you can also switch it around so you have suction only from the pool and return to the spa (filling up the spa) and determine any change.

 

[Jimrahbe]

C,

I really doubt that they ran any plumbing under the equipment pad..

If that is true, then what I would do is to dig some exploratory holes.. Carefully of course.. I'd dig a couple of holes in front of the pipe coming out of the ground.

My thought is that if it is not leaking on top of the pad, it must be leaking somewhere else and seeping under the pad. To me it makes sense to attack the pipes you can see first.

Do you have any construction pics???

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[cratica]

Location of pool... looking at the equipment as in photo1, the pool is back and to the right about 50 ft away.

No, I don't have any construction photos. We recently purchased the home and I believe the pool was built about 20 years ago. We have no information about it.

 

[Jimrahbe]

C,

No doubt there may be plumbing under the pad, but that is not the normal plumbing route.

When I am asked a question, where there is no obvious answer, I always ask myself what would I do.?

In this case, as I said above, I'd dig down (by hand) right next to a couple of the pipes coming out of the ground in front of the pad. The whole idea would be to see if the hole filled up with water and to see where the vertical pipes connect to the horizontal pipes going back to the pool.

Please update this thread when you find the leak, as it could help others in the future.

Thanks,

Jim R.