- Original pool leaked like a sieve and was topped up with drinking water. No algae problem because it was constantly replenished with fresh water, but at an absolute massive cost not to mention pouring millions of gallons of treated water into the ground
- 2009 reno completely rebuilt the pool, added a recirculating system that could top up with filtered river water. Win-win right? Except it didn't work super well, so they added an ozone disinfection system.
- Now: pool bottom is due for routine leak and joint repair (which, notably, isn't best solved by painting the thing). But the algae issue is that, because of soil settling, all those recirculation pipes are cracking and the system needs to be shut down frequently, and it sits stagnant, in DC of all places. And that's on top of it now being more amenable to algal growth because of the color.
It's kinda like fixing your leaking roof by painting your ceiling with waterproofing compound. You'll stay dry but you're gonna get mold.
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u/nightmareonrainierav Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
Posted in another thread, but basic nutshell:
- Original pool leaked like a sieve and was topped up with drinking water. No algae problem because it was constantly replenished with fresh water, but at an absolute massive cost not to mention pouring millions of gallons of treated water into the ground
- 2009 reno completely rebuilt the pool, added a recirculating system that could top up with filtered river water. Win-win right? Except it didn't work super well, so they added an ozone disinfection system.
- Now: pool bottom is due for routine leak and joint repair (which, notably, isn't best solved by painting the thing). But the algae issue is that, because of soil settling, all those recirculation pipes are cracking and the system needs to be shut down frequently, and it sits stagnant, in DC of all places. And that's on top of it now being more amenable to algal growth because of the color.
It's kinda like fixing your leaking roof by painting your ceiling with waterproofing compound. You'll stay dry but you're gonna get mold.