By Tom Soukup
Pool leaks are a problem and ignoring them creates much bigger problems. The nature of moving water is to expand its pathway, gradually permitting an ever-greater volume to pass. This destructive nature is an issue in and of itself, but when water is being purchased, treated, and heated, the financial loss increases exponentially.
Unfortunately, leaking pools are more common than one might expect. Many small leaks escape notice, only to devolve into big issues that cannot be ignored. Leaks are often caused, or at least exacerbated, by a lack of maintenance and improper installation. One job the author’s company is currently working on is a great example.
The company had cold-called a high-end country club in central Pennsylvania, to see if they needed help maintaining their 20-year-old, 556,455.5-L (147,000-gal), three-season outdoor pool and kiddie pool.
The call struck a chord, because the owners quickly asked the company to visit and look at a leak problem they were experiencing. Their pool sits at a higher elevation than the adjacent parking lot, and in the summer, maintenance staff are regularly required to pressure wash algae off the parking surface. The algae grows on a large portion of the parking lot that remains wet from water running out of the ground between the pool and the pavement, similar to a natural spring. In the winter, the water turns to an ice flow. This runoff reduces parking capacity, creates unnecessary maintenance labour, poses a slip-and-fall hazard year-round, and creates an eyesore on an otherwise attractive property. Essentially, the water had been flowing out of the pool, through the soil, and onto the parking lot.
A partial fix
A number of years ago, the country club had hired a leak detection company to assist them in determining where the problem originated.
Proper leak detection can be very costly and must be conducted methodically. Moreover, many companies look for the source of a leak, fix it, and leave, never considering there may be more than one issue. After paying for the repair, many property owners assume the problem has been resolved but that is not always the case—especially when dealing with aging and improperly maintained pools, multiple leaks are possible, if not likely.
