Assessing Drainage and Understanding Water Runoff Conditions
Maintaining your swimming pool involves managing the quality of the pool water. This is more challenging in Florida since tropical storms and storm conditions can raise your pool’s water level and alter its chemical makeup. This guide will give you a better understanding of this process and offer tips for managing stormwater runoff near your swimming pool.
How Stormwater and Runoff Affect Your Swimming Pool
Most people don’t think about the path rainwater takes once it reaches the ground, but this is important to consider for every property owner. When it storms, excessive rainwater can harm your home’s roof and foundation unless your gutter system diverts water away from your home.
Even after water gets flushed far from your foundation, it will follow the path of least resistance. This usually means the soil will absorb the water. Once the soil becomes too saturated, runoff occurs. The excess water flows down slopes and across concrete, brick, and asphalt.
If you have a swimming pool, it won’t take long for storm runoff to flow across your deck and into your pool. Most contractors consider this effect during pool construction, but it’s still an issue that should concern you.
Even a small amount of stormwater in your pool can change the chemical composition of your pool water. The slight contamination that results from water runoff makes it possible for algae, mold, and other contaminants to thrive.
Design a Swimming Pool Construction That Protects Against Runoff
In addition to promoting the growth of algae and mildew, storm runoff brings more contaminants to your pool. Introducing tree branches, leaves, soil, litter, and more refuse into your pool affects the water’s quality. Use these tips to limit pool water pollution.
Keep the Pool Away From Your Property Lines
When picking a location for your new swimming pool, make sure you pick a spot that’s far from your property lines. Keep your pool at least five feet from every property line. This will ensure water runoff from your neighbors’ properties won’t affect your pool water. Keep an eye out for nearby shrubbery and overhanging tree branches to prevent contamination from falling into the pool.
Wait for Soil Saturation to Dissipate
When following post-storm pool cleaning practices, avoid making changes to the level of water in your swimming pool. The surrounding soil has probably become saturated with stormwater, and the excess water could still leak into the pool. You will also want to work on preventing soil erosion from the extra water. Wait for the soil to dry before changing the water level or altering the pool water chemicals.
Don’t Irrigate With Backwash Water
Filtration is an important consideration when designing a pool construction since contaminants can make water unsafe for swimming. In particular, a good filtration system prevents the growth of algae, mold, and mildew.
You’ll defeat the purpose of the pool’s filtration process if you use backwash water to irrigate the pool. Reintroducing this wastewater into the pool can increase the risks of fungal growth.
Create a Barrier Between Your Pool and Foliage
As you learn about the pool construction process, you’ll discover the importance of building a deck around the surface of the pool. The deck is more than a place to lounge or entertain guests. It serves as a barrier between your landscaping areas and your pool. Grass and other foliage can grow and damage your pool equipment, but installing a deck keeps nature far enough away to prevent pool maintenance issues and drainage systems issues.
Follow Local Laws for Removing Excess Pool Water
Every city has its own laws and practices for disposing of excess pool water after a storm. Never pour this water onto the soil or into a gutter. Research your community’s laws in advance to ensure you know the proper way to get rid of pool water without facing penalties.
In most cases, this involves flushing the water through a sanitary sewer system. You should find the hookup to a sanitary sewer system near an outdoor water spigot. The hookup will have a rubber or threaded metal cover.
Use Eco-Friendly Stormwater Management Regulations
Every Florida community has rules regarding the management of stormwater site runoff. Some cities require property owners to use holding tanks to store excess rainwater. This policy keeps the excess water from flooding events and damaging properties.
Even if your community doesn’t require storing rainwater runoff in a tank, doing so can help you protect your property. You’ll prevent water from damaging your home’s foundation through flooding and soil saturation. In addition, you’ll reduce the amount of stormwater that accesses your swimming pool. This will make post-storm pool cleaning easier to handle.
Use a Rainwater Capture System
You can work with your builder to design a pool construction that includes safe rainwater collection practices. There are several different options when it comes to creating a water control runoff for a collection system around your swimming pool. You can use one of these options or incorporate a couple of different systems to create a backup water collection process.
Deck-O-Drains
Deck-o-drains are plastic gutters that are sleek enough to fit into concrete deck designs. They come in a variety of colors, so matching them to your pool’s color scheme is simple. Once installed, they resemble gutter grates. They require very little maintenance, and they won’t rust.
Permeable Pavers
If you’re planning to use concrete pavers for your pool deck, consider switching to permeable pavers. Cells beneath these pavers collect excess runoff and release the water into a gravel composite. This process lets the water drain more gradually to prevent soil saturation.
French Drains
You might use French drains to protect your home’s foundation. You can use this same type of gutter system to capture stormwater before it enters your swimming pool. The drains collect excess water and carry it away from your property. You can run the drains to a catch basin, which will store the water for you. Later, use the water to refill a toilet basin, water your plants, or wash your vehicles.
Enjoy Safe Pool Construction With Tampa’s Leading Pool Builder
Tampa Bay Pools is a trusted leader in the pool construction industry. We’re familiar with building codes and regulations regarding water drainage. We can design and build a pool that meets these requirements while enhancing the beauty of your property. Contact us to start the development of your pool today!