in the ground and close to the home, often near a water spigot. The port should have a rubber or threaded cap with a square wrench fitting and be about three to four inches in diameter. submersible pump. Lower the pump into the deepest area of the pool, near the drain.
Flooding Your Grass Is Not A Good Idea
The problem with draining your pool in the yard, if permitted by your local water regulatory laws, is that it will quickly reach its saturation level and increase the risk of flooding your lawn, drowning the roots of your grass, and attracting mosquitoes.
Pool water should never be drained to the street or the storm drain. Storm drains in the Bay Area typically run into local creeks, rivers and the bays. In most places, it's against the law to drain pools and spas this way because pool water contains chemicals that can endanger or kill wildlife.
If it is time to empty your pool, there are two main options that pool owners typically choose from when getting ready to drain their above ground pool; an electric pump or a garden hose siphon.
It is important to remember the motto “Only Rain in the Storm Drain” even when performing this maintenance. In many cities or towns, it is a code violation to discharge backwash water from your property into a public right-of-way like an alley, road, or arroyo.
Household sink or bathtub - Yes, seriously! Run the garden hose between your pool and your sink or tub and start the flow! This will direct the water to the sanitary sewers.
Any backwash water is to bypass the septic tank and be discharged to the drain between the septic tank and the common effluent drain. Under no circumstances should backwash water be discharged into the septic tank.
All you need is a medium-size water or vacuum pump. Unroll the pump's intake hose so that it reaches the center of the pool (or as close to it as possible), and submerge it in the pool. Place the outlet hose so the exiting water doesn't flood the area, but drains off away from the pool.
Important: Never completely drain an above ground pool. This can cause your pool to collapse. If your pool is plumbed with detachable, flexible hoses, remove them and store for the winter. Remove all drain plugs from the pump, filter tank, and any other pool equipment.
If you can pump around 30 GPM (gallons per minute), which is also equivalent to 1800 GPH (gallons per hour), it should take you 2.78 hours or 2 hours and 46 minutes to drain your pool using a hose.
If you need to drain your pool or spa, discharge of polluted pool water to the sanitary sewer is an option, since the sanitary sewer system is conveyed to a treatment plant where it is designed to remove most chemicals found in pools and spas. Your pool might have a permanent indirect connection to the sanitary sewer.
But did you know there's an easy way to reuse the water that's already in the pool? All you have to do is recycle it! Meet reverse osmosis — the best way to purify your swimming pool water. It works by pushing the existing water through semipermeable membranes that hold off any impurities, particles, and buildup.
Above-Ground Pools
If you have an above-ground pool with a vinyl pool liner, drain the pool to about 1 inch below the bottom of the skimmer mouth. It's acceptable to drain the pool a few more inches below that if you live in an area that gets heavy precipitation during the winter months.
Most in-ground pools will have to be drained and refilled at some point. But cleaning should not be the reason to do it. Pools will need to be drained and refilled every 5-7 years on average, or if there is a major necessary repair. Otherwise, avoid draining your pool if at all possible.
Close the pool for winter – but don't drain it.
In winter, the water in your pool is still your friend. Especially when properly winterized, it helps to protect the pool liner, keep it clean and prevent unnecessary damage from debris, harsh weather and other factors.
A 10,000 gallon pool will take about 14 hours to drain, the maximum rate recommended by the City of Phoenix. It will take twice as long to drain if the pool size is doubled or cut in half.
Shut off the pump. Go to the back of the filter and unscrew the drain plug. Turn the pump back on and let the water run until it reaches the point where you want to drain the water out. Turn the pump back off and put the plug back into the drain plug.
Can You Directly Discharge The Water Outside? Absolutely not! The salt in water softeners will kill grass and any small surface organisms. By doing this you run the risk of severely damaging the environment.
* Can i discharge the backwash water onto my lawn, will it harm the grass / plants? The DE doesn't harm the grass or plants, excessive chlorine or saltwater may. Alternatively you could backwash to a sewer outlet or clean-out.
It is not recommended to drain a swimming pool through the backwash valve. While sucking from the main drain and putting the water down the backwash line will work in some scenarios it puts your pool pump at risk of losing prime and running dry.
In simple terms, you cannot drain pool water into the streets, curbs, catch basins, gutters, ditches, channels, and ultimately, into storm drains (which flow directly into local streams)! The purpose of storm drains is to guard against flooding and water damage by quickly removing rain water from the streets.
Put one end of your garden hose inside the port. Thread the hose to the back of your house. Attach the other end of the garden hose to a submersion pump and place the hose and pump in the deepest area of your pool, near the drain. The pool will begin to drain.