A swimming pool contains thousands of gallons of water, so losing a little bit here and there might not seem like a big deal. In Las Vegas, it can be especially easy to write off a dropping water level as evaporation. After all, heat, low humidity, wind and direct sunlight can pull plenty of water out of an uncovered pool.

But when the water loss is caused by a leak, ignoring it can turn a relatively manageable problem into a much more expensive one.

At Las Vegas Pool Bros, one of the things we want pool owners to understand is that the water from a leak has to go somewhere. Depending on where it’s escaping, that water may be running into the soil around the pool, beneath the deck, through the pool structure or around expensive equipment.

Here’s why a suspected pool leak is worth investigating sooner rather than later.

A Small Pool Leak Can Waste a Lot of Water

A quarter-inch or half-inch drop in the water level doesn’t look like much when you’re standing next to a swimming pool. Spread that loss across the entire surface of the pool, however, and you’re talking about a significant volume of water.

Consider a 15-by-30-foot swimming pool. One inch of water across that surface represents roughly 280 gallons.

If that pool is losing an unexplained half-inch per day, that’s approximately 140 gallons of water. Keep that going for 30 days and you’re looking at roughly 4,200 gallons of additional water loss.

And that’s before accounting for normal evaporation.

The larger the pool, the more dramatic those numbers become.

Higher Water Bills

The most immediate consequence of a leak is also the most obvious: you’re paying for water that isn’t staying in your pool.

Without an autofill, you may notice yourself dragging out the hose more frequently. With an automatic fill system, however, a leak can be much easier to overlook.

The autofill simply keeps replacing whatever the pool loses.

From your perspective, the water level may look completely normal. Meanwhile, hundreds or potentially thousands of gallons of additional water can pass through the meter.

That’s why an unexplained increase in household water usage can sometimes be one of the first indications that a pool has a problem.

If you suspect this is happening, shut the autofill off temporarily and monitor the pool’s water level. Performing a bucket test can also help determine whether you’re seeing normal evaporation or something that deserves further investigation.

You’re Losing More Than Water

Every time water escapes from your pool and gets replaced with fresh water, you’re changing the chemistry of the pool.

The replacement water doesn’t contain the same chemical balance as the water that disappeared.

That can mean additional sanitizer, acid and other chemicals are required to maintain proper water chemistry. Depending on the source water and severity of the leak, you’re continually introducing new minerals and altering the chemistry you’re trying to maintain.

In other words, you’re not just paying for replacement water.

You’re paying to treat that replacement water too.

For homeowners who have professional pool service, a persistent leak can also make maintaining consistent chemistry more difficult because the pool is essentially undergoing a continuous partial refill.

If the chemistry suddenly seems harder to keep stable than it used to be, unexplained water loss is one possibility worth considering.

Underground Leaks Can Affect the Soil Around Your Pool

This is where a pool leak can become considerably more serious.

Many parts of a swimming pool’s plumbing system are underground. Suction and return lines can travel beneath the pool deck and surrounding landscaping before reaching the equipment.

If one of those lines develops a leak, water may be escaping beneath the surface without creating an obvious puddle.

So where does it go?

Into the surrounding soil.

A small amount of water isn’t necessarily going to cause catastrophic damage, but a persistent leak can continually saturate or move through the soil around the pool. Depending on the location, soil conditions and severity of the leak, that water can contribute to erosion or the development of voids.

This is one reason we don’t recommend ignoring a known leak simply because the pool still seems to operate normally.

What begins as a plumbing repair can potentially become a more complicated project if water is allowed to escape underground for an extended period.

Pool Deck Damage Can Become Part of the Problem

Water moving beneath a pool deck is something you want to address.

If soil beneath the deck is being washed away or destabilized, sections of decking may eventually settle or move. Cracks can develop, joints can separate, and areas that were once level may no longer be.

Of course, not every cracked pool deck is evidence of a pool leak. Concrete can crack and move for plenty of other reasons.

But if you’ve confirmed that your pool is losing water and you’re also seeing unusual settling, persistent wet areas or new movement around the deck, those symptoms shouldn’t automatically be treated as unrelated.

The sooner the source of the water loss is identified, the sooner you can determine whether it’s affecting anything beyond the pool itself.

A Leak Can Create Problems With Pool Equipment

Not all pool leaks send water underground.

Some occur at the equipment pad, where there are numerous plumbing connections, valves, unions, seals and pieces of equipment that can potentially leak.

A small drip around a pump or filter may not seem particularly concerning at first. But leaks don’t usually repair themselves.

Water around electrical equipment is obviously something that deserves attention, while persistent moisture can also contribute to corrosion and deterioration of components around the equipment pad.

Other types of leaks can affect the way the circulation system operates.

A suction-side plumbing problem, for example, can allow air to enter the system. You might notice bubbles coming from the returns, air accumulating in the pump basket, difficulty maintaining prime or unusual pump behavior.

Those symptoms aren’t proof of an underground leak by themselves, but they’re good reasons to investigate.

Don’t Assume the Leak Is Where You See the Water

Pool leaks can be deceptive.

A wet spot next to the equipment doesn’t necessarily mean the component directly above it is leaking. Water can travel along pipes and surfaces before becoming visible.

The same applies around the pool itself.

Leaks can develop around skimmers, return fittings, light niches, plumbing lines, water features, equipment and other penetrations. Cracks or separation between different materials can also provide pathways for water to escape.

That’s why professional leak detection is a process rather than a guess.

Depending on the symptoms, finding a leak may involve visual inspection, dye testing, isolating portions of the circulation system, pressure testing plumbing lines or using specialized electronic or acoustic equipment.

The objective is to narrow the problem down before unnecessary repair work begins.

The Longer You Wait, the More Water You Lose

It’s tempting to keep adding water and deal with the problem later, particularly if the pool otherwise looks fine.

But do the math.

Even 100 gallons of unexplained water loss per day becomes 3,000 gallons over a month and 36,500 gallons over a year. A more substantial leak can waste far more.

Meanwhile, you’re paying for replacement water, treating that water with chemicals and potentially allowing it to escape into areas where it doesn’t belong.

A leak that can be identified and repaired today is generally preferable to discovering months later that the problem has gotten worse.

Think Your Las Vegas Pool Has a Leak? Find It Before It Gets Worse.

If you’re adding water more often than you used to, your autofill seems to run constantly, your water bill has jumped, or a bucket test indicates that your pool is losing more water than evaporation can explain, don’t just keep refilling it.

Las Vegas Pool Bros offers pool leak detection to help identify where the water is going and determine what needs to be repaired.

We can investigate the pool, plumbing and equipment to narrow down the source of the problem. Once the leak is located, Las Vegas Pool Bros can also handle the necessary pool repair work, so you’re not left with a diagnosis and another contractor to find.

Stop paying to replace disappearing water. Schedule leak detection with Las Vegas Pool Bros and let’s find the problem before a small leak has the opportunity to become a bigger one.