Swimming Pool with a Well: Everything you need to know!


Well Pump

Can you have a pool with a well?

Having your own supply of fresh water to drink and use around your home is an incredible benefit many people enjoy when they have their own well on their property. 

Can you build or purchase a swimming pool if you have a Well? The answer is yes, the pool will have no effect on the aquifer where your Well draws its water if placed properly on your property. Whether you have an above-ground or inground pool built, the location of your pool to your Well Pump should be considered to avoid any type of damage to the pump during construction. The location of the pump might also be of importance if you would like to use well water to fill your pool in the future.

Read on to find out our recommendations for pool placement in consideration of your Well Pump. 

How far from my well should my pool be located?

A safe distance between your pool and the Well is 20 feet. This will allow the safe construction of your swimming pool without affecting your well. Many swimming pools will require gas and electrical lines to be run around the pool so these 20 feet will provide a safe distance.

The depth of a Well differs from property to property, this should be taken into consideration to avoid any type of contamination of your groundwater. If your Well is deep, then contamination won’t be a concern. If you have a shallow Well, then you should consult with a professional water and Well specialist to avoid any expensive mistakes that could affect your aquifer.

Possible problems with your Well or Pool.

When you place your pool in your backyard you’ll want to think about any possible problems that might happen that could affect your Well. If there was a possible leak in your pipes in the swimming pool and water begins to seep out of your pool you wouldn’t want this to disturb your Well.

If any future construction is needed for a repair to either your pool, Well, or Well Pump having a nice distance of 20 feet or more will allow for repair construction to take place without causing any possible damage to each other. 

Can I Fill my pool with Well Water?

Yes! You can fill your pool with well water and many pool owners do it every year to fill their pools for the summer. The water from your well would be perfectly fine but will still need to be treated with the proper chemicals for health and safety.

There are issues that arise from using well water, like high mineral content, especially iron. If you do fill your pool with your well water, consider getting a filter for your hose like this one.

Iron in Filter from Well Water
A Filter affected by Iron from Well Water.

With that being said, our personal recommendation is to not fill your pool with Well water because it could run your Well dry, burn out your Well Pump, or even affect your future Well recovery rate. You can look up all of the quickest ways to fill up your pool for other options here on our blog.

These are some major considerations that you should think long and hard about before filling your pool with Well water using a hose. The first issue could be that you run your well dry and there isn’t a quick enough recovery rate in your groundwater or aquifer. Which of course would cost you thousands of dollars to get a new well dug! If that did happen during the process of filling your pool with well water, you would still need to then shell out the thousands of dollars needed to fill your pool using a water service. Along with the cost to survey your land and find a new place to dig a well.

Your Well pump could also break or burn out pumping the thousands of gallons of water needed to fill a swimming pool. If you think about it, your Well pump has probably never had to pump that amount of water for such an extended amount of time. Depending on the size of your pool, it could take days to pump the thousands of gallons needed to fill your pool from your Well. It wouldn’t be surprising to see that a Well pump couldn’t sustain that amount of stress and workload required. Especially if it is an older pump or well.

Saving Money by filling your Pool with Well Water

Yes, you can save some money by filling your pool with well water. A water service costs thousands of dollars every year if you have a large pool. Using your own water supply would save you a lot of money. 

Before you do fill up your pool with Well water, consult a well and water specialist. The thousands of dollars you would have saved could end up costing you more if there is an issue with your Well setup. It might be the better option to figure out how to fill your pool up with a hose.

Tell the Well specialist exactly what you want to do so that your recovery rate and the amount of water available to you is checked before attempting to suck thousands of gallons of water from your Well. The specialist can also assure you that your Well pump is up to the task for the days needed to run non-stop to fill your pool.

As mentioned above, you will really need to test your Well water to be sure it doesn’t destroy your beautiful pool. Along with giving you information on how to treat the water effectively for a safe pool to swim in.

FredrickWilson

The founder of Coolpoolhelp.com. I wanted a place to share all of the great information from my family to other pool lovers, builders, and those looking to buy a pool.

Recent Posts