Yard Wet, No Salt but CYA?

[HtownPool123]

So I thought this was weird enough to finally sign up and move past my lurking days!

A week or two ago noticed a wet spot in our yard by the hot tub (kidney-shaped pool + hot tub, 25k gallon) where theoretically all the pool plumbing probably joins to go to the equipment pad. I am rocking a slightly high 4000ppm salt.

Trying to decide if it's the pool or sprinkler system.

None of the sprinkler heads seem to be experiencing very low pressure/no water coming out...

I had the bright idea to test the water in the yard to see if it matches the pool. The salt concentration matches our tap water, i.e. 200ppm or so salt. But the CYA test was positive for small amount 20-30 ppm cyanuric acid. Tap water obvi has no CYA. I tested it just in case, zero, totally clear. Why wouldn't the pool of water in the yard have any elevated salt level over tap but still contain CYA? Does that make any sense at all? The water might have just been dirty enough to look cloudy, I'm gonna re-test the CYA again in a bit. Shouldn't I be testing positive for both elevated salt AND cya in the yard if it's pool water?

Waiting on a pool leak detection company to come out. They apparently popular this time of year. Everyone with good reviews seems to be 4 weeks out. The pool isn't losing water fast enough to get a good bucket test positive against the Texas sun, but the yard also isn't wet enough to have hundreds of gallons a day leaking.

 

[Mdragger88]

It’s likely the dirtyness that u are seeing not cya. I assume your pool has more than 20ppm cya.
You can turn off the water to the sprinklers & see if it dries up.

 

[jgofnj]

Is there a sprinkler head that is not popping up? that is a dead give away to find the head that can't pop up. Pressure on the other heads usually not affected when this happens.

 

[HtownPool123]

It’s likely the dirtyness that u are seeing not cya. I assume your pool has more than 20ppm cya.
You can turn off the water to the sprinklers & see if it dries up.

That's what I'm kind of thinking now. My pool should be around 40-50ppm CYA. Plus the water testing without any elevated salt. I'm pretty sure a few feet of gumbo soil wouldn't filter out all of the salt, would it? I'm starting to think it's not my pool if the water in the yard doesnt have salt in it.

Is there a sprinkler head that is not popping up? that is a dead give away to find the head that can't pop up. Pressure on the other heads usually not affected when this happens.

Yeah, it seems like can never be that easy lol. All of the sprinklers appear to be working OK... The 15x20 mushiest spot isn't even immediately near a sprinkler head. So if it is a sprinkler leak it's gotta be at a joint or something in the lines. It's definitely an older system, previous owners didn't leave the designs anywhere. Seems like a leak just big enough to slowly swamp up part of the yard, but not enough to totally kill a sprinkler head pressure... if it's the sprinkler system...

I'm trying to turn off one of the zones closest to the house for a day or two to see what happens. If I turn off the yard sprinklers my grass will start dieing FAST in the Texas heat. Might just have to find a fancy sprinkler leak detection company... Arg

 

[HtownPool123]

I walked foot by foot in the mushy wet area and found one especially mushy deep 1.5x1.5ft area and then it seems to get drier out from there. I think I'm just gonna start digging right there haha

 

[HtownPool123]

That was quick. I take a shovel to the top of the grass and hit a hidden irrigation box that was overgrown. Strip away the grass and an inch or two of soil from the top and there's water coming out of it... mystery solved. Leak at a completely hidden, unknown irrigation box. Lesson learned don't be afraid to dig a little near the pool yourself! Thanks everyone!

 

[Mdragger88]

Glad u found the culprit! Also glad it’s not a pool leak