“Where’s my water going?” is the question we get quite often. Some of our readers concerns center around the question if their pool has a possible breach, leak, hole, etc. that is causing their loss of water. In my experience, if your pool or spa is losing water it generally is because of an Equipment Malfunction (check valve, automation valve, etc.), Mother Nature or the elusive Cannon Ball Effect.
I’ve touched on some of these subjects in our blog in the past. See applicable links.
Equipment Malfunction
- Determine if your pool is losing water due to evaporation or a leak.
- How will a pool leak professional find my swimming pool leak?
- Is your Spa Losing Water?
- Repairing Jandy Valves
Mother Nature
Mother Nature has a way of causing evaporation in our pools and spas. Simple concept right? What people don’t realize is that they can lose up to 2+ inches daily given the ambient temperature and wind alone.
The evaporation rate will vary depending on where you live as you can see in this map that shows annual evaporation rates in inches. In areas that have a cool/cold winter, the evaporation is mostly in the summer so you roughly double the rate as shown. So say that this is 50″ per year on the map so double that for 100″, divide by 365 and you get 0.27″ per day. This is about what you are seeing and is probably normal. (Reference from ChemGeek)
- Avoiding the pitfalls of vanishing-edge pool construction
- WIKI Answers: How Much Water Evaporates From A Pool?
Cannon Ball Effect
This is a common problem in the Summer months that occurs when 1 or more of these factors are present:
- Bather load exceeds more than 2 people
- Adult beverages are offered to guests at party
- Your inner child kicks in to remember the good ‘ol days
- When “cooling off” is no longer condition of swimming
- Surrounding Plants around pool require water
Red Square Pools serving S. Nevada, Las Vegas, Henderson & Summerlin. Services include weekly cleaning, repair, equipment sales, acid wash and tile cleaning.
Great information, never even heard of American leak detection. Thanks for sharing this post.
Dave thanks for the comment! Have a great week. VB
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