Bergvliet is one of the Southern Suburbs where the pool is often older than the last renovation to the house. When the water level starts to fall, the question is whether the shell, a fitting or a pipe under the garden is losing it.
Why a Bergvliet pool loses water
Many Southern Suburbs pools were built long ago, often in concrete with a marbelite finish, and some have been resurfaced more than once. The shells are usually still sound. The parts around them are where the water goes: the joint where the skimmer box meets the shell, the light fitting, the return eyes and the main drain.
The gardens matter too. Large oaks, pines and other trees shade many of these pools, and roots reach for water under paving and along pipe runs. A root that finds a joint can open it slowly over years.
Winter rain adds a second layer. The suburbs on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain get much more rain than the Northern Suburbs, and wet winters raise the groundwater. That makes a leak harder to spot from the surface, and it makes draining a pool a risk in its own right.
Telling weather from a leak
A pool loses water to evaporation every day, and the south-easter adds to it. A bucket test is the cheapest way to separate the two: stand a bucket of pool water on the step, mark both levels, and leave the pump running for a day without topping up. If the pool drops more than the bucket, the pool has a leak.
Run the same test with the pump off as well. Water that falls with the pump running and holds when it is off points at the pressure side of the plumbing. Water that keeps falling with the pump off points at the shell or the suction side.
What a contractor checks
- The pump room, for drips at unions, valves, the filter and the backwash line.
- The skimmer, light, returns and steps with a dye test, which shows water being drawn into a gap.
- Each pipe run with a pressure test, so a buried line can be ruled in or out before anything is dug up.
- The shell, for cracks that run through the marbelite rather than sitting in the surface.
The useful result is a written finding: where the water is going, what caused it where that is known, and what the repair involves. You can take that finding to any contractor you like.
What moves the quote
The number of fittings and lines that have to be tested, how easy the buried pipes are to reach, and whether the repair is part of the same job. We do not publish prices for this work, because a contractor sets their own and we will not print a figure they have not confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
Should I drain the pool to find the leak?
Usually not. Draining a pool in ground that holds winter water can damage the shell, and it is rarely needed to find the source. Testing is done with the pool full.
The paving next to the pool has dropped. Is that the leak?
It can be. Settling paving or soft ground beside a pool often follows water escaping from a pipe or a fitting, but the ground can also move for other reasons. A pressure test and a dye test will tell you which.
How soon should I act?
A small leak wastes water and chemicals every week, and it can wash away the bedding under paving over a season. Testing early is cheaper than repairing what the water takes with it.