Pool Leak Detection
East London
Most pool leak detection East London owners ask for starts with a pool that loses more water than the sun and wind can account for. We find out whether the water leaves through the shell, a fitting or a pipe under the paving, before anyone lifts a paver.
Request a call-out
Where pools lose water
Three places, and a test for each.
A pool loses water through the shell (cracks, the tile line, a worn marbelite or fibreglass surface), the fittings (skimmer, return inlets, lights, the main drain), or the plumbing (the suction and return lines under the paving, and the pump, filter and valves). Splashing, backwashing and evaporation explain some loss. The job is to prove how much is left over, and where it goes.
The bucket test separates evaporation from a leak. Dye, released next to a crack or fitting with the water still, shows whether water is being drawn out there. Pressure testing each line with the pool's plumbing isolated shows whether a buried pipe is leaking, without lifting a single paver.
We find leaks in the plumbing and fittings and repair them. If the shell itself needs resurfacing, the report tells a pool builder exactly where the problem is, so you are not paying for a whole pool to be redone for one crack.
Your leak rebate does not cover the pool
What Buffalo City's rules mean for a pool that keeps needing a top-up.
Buffalo City's underground leak rebate, which splits the cost of a proven hidden leak with the owner, specifically excludes leaks on plumbing to convenience fixtures: irrigation systems, and automatic filling systems to ponds, pools and fountains. A leaking auto-fill line can run under the paving for months, and every kilolitre of it is billed in full.
Water restrictions sharpen the point. During the 2019 to 2020 drought, Buffalo City moved to Stage 3 restrictions with punitive tariffs and asked households to keep to 50 litres per person per day. The restriction stages in the tariff book ban sprinklers, then hosepipes, then all watering with drinking water, and multiply the price of the top tariff blocks. Topping up a leaking pool in a drought is expensive, and depending on the stage, may not be allowed at all.
The by-law has a rule for pools too: backwash water from the filter must stay on the property or, with the municipality's written approval, go into the sewer. A backwash line run to the wrong place, or a multiport valve that lets water past while the pump runs, is part of what we check.
Then the coast. Pumps, unions and valve bodies in a pool room within a kilometre of the sea sit in air rated high to extremely corrosive, and a weeping union on the pressure side loses water every time the pump runs. It is often the cheapest leak to fix, and the easiest to miss.
Do the bucket test before you call anyone. If the pool and the bucket drop by the same amount over two days, it is the weather. If the pool drops more, it is a leak, and the rebate will not pay for it.
Found by elimination, not by digging
Four rules that keep a pool leak search cheap.
Tested before anything is lifted
Bucket, dye and pressure tests come first. Paving is lifted only where a test has proved the leak is underneath.
Lines tested one at a time
Each suction and return line gets its own pressure test, so a failed test names a single pipe.
The pool room included
Pump, filter, multiport valve, unions and the backwash line, checked while the pump runs.
Clear about what we do not do
We repair plumbing and fittings. If the shell needs resurfacing, you get a written report to give a pool builder.
How pool leak detection works
Rule things out, in order.
- 1
Bucket test
You can do it before we come: a bucket on the top step, filled to pool level, both marked, compared after two days.
- 2
Equipment and fittings
The pool room with the pump running, then dye at the skimmer, inlets, lights and any cracks.
- 3
Pressure-test the lines
Each pipe isolated and pressurised. A line that loses pressure is the leak.
- 4
Report and repair
Where the water goes, photographed and written up, and the repair priced before it is done.
Pool leak questions
From the bucket test to the bill.
How much does pool leak detection cost in East London?
National guides put professional leak detection at about R1,500 to R2,500. We give you the price on the call back, after asking how many lines the pool has and what the bucket test showed.
How do I do the bucket test?
Stand a bucket on the top step of the pool and fill it to the same level as the pool water. Mark both levels. Run the pump on its normal schedule and compare after 24 to 48 hours. If the pool dropped more than the bucket, the difference is a leak.
Will Buffalo City or my insurance pay for a pool leak?
The metro's underground leak rebate excludes automatic pool and pond top-ups and irrigation. Insurance depends on your policy; our report gives the insurer the cause and location in writing.
Do you repair the pool shell as well?
No. We repair pool plumbing and fittings: lines, skimmers, inlets, lights, pumps, valves and unions. If the shell needs work, the report shows a pool builder exactly where.
Can a pool leak damage the house?
Water escaping under the paving can wash out the sand bedding, so paving sinks and edging cracks. A leak close to a wall or foundation is worth finding sooner rather than later.
Can I top up my pool during water restrictions?
It depends on the stage in force. Buffalo City's restriction stages step up from banning sprinklers to banning hosepipes to banning all watering with drinking water. Check the current notice from the metro before filling.
Request a call-out
Tell us what is happening and where. We phone you back to confirm a time and what we are bringing.
There is no phone line on this website on purpose: every request lands with a person who phones you back, so nothing depends on catching someone between jobs.
Where we work in East London
A service-area business: we come to you, anywhere in the suburbs below and the rest of Buffalo City.
City centre and beachfront
CBD, Quigney, Arcadia, North End, Belgravia, Southernwood, Panmure
Berea side
Selborne, Berea, Vincent, Vincent Heights, Stirling, Bunkers Hill, Baysville, Woodleigh
Nahoon to Gonubie
Nahoon, Nahoon Valley, Bonnie Doon, Abbotsford, Dorchester Heights, Beacon Bay, Bonza Bay, Gonubie, Sunrise-on-Sea
West and north-west
Cambridge, Chiselhurst, Amalinda, Haven Hills, Braelyn, Buffalo Flats, Scenery Park, Reeston, Mdantsane
West Bank and the coast
West Bank, Greenfields, Sunnyridge, Woodbrook, Cove Rock, Winterstrand, Kidd's Beach
Industrial areas
Wilsonia, East London IDZ, Braelyn Industrial