Owning a pool comes with associated costs. One of the most important initial costs is precisely adding the element that puts the fun in a swimming pool: water. But, how much does it cost to fill a pool with water? Well, that depends.
Whether you’re inaugurating your newly built pool or you’re opening the pool for the summer, you might need several hundred to probably thousands of gallons of water. Let’s take a look at how much it costs to fill a pool with water.
When will you need to add water to your pool
Throughout the lifetime of your pool, there will come the time when you need to refill or fill completely with water. Below are the most common situations.
After opening your pool
Before winterizing your pool for the season, you’ll need to lower your pool water level a few inches below the skimmer. On top of that, your pool will lose a few inches of water during the winter months, even with a winter cover.
To avoid treating and balancing your water twice, it’s recommended to bring the water level up to normal using simply your garden hose. It’s even better if you can use a hose filter to prevent metals and other contaminants from finding their way into the pool.
If you use well water, make sure to test for metals before filling to prevent staining. Using a smart water monitor like Sutro can help you know your pool chemistry at all times and know exactly what chemicals you need to add to your pool.
After draining your pool
Every certain amount of time you’ll have to come to terms with the fact your pool has to be drained at some point. Whether you need to restart the chemicals in your water because of TDS or you need to perform pool maintenance tasks, fully or partially emptying a pool is a necessary task.
Pool water delivery services are the most straightforward way to fill your pool. Even though it can be more expensive, it has been pretreated and filtered for swimming pools and it’s ready to use in a shorter amount of time.
When you want to find out how much water your pool has, you can use your pool volume calculator.
Due to evaporation
During the summer, a regular pool in hot weather can lose several inches of water due to evaporation, and other causes like water splashing out. If you feel your pool is losing more water than it should, it might be due to leaking. In that case, make sure to call a certified pool leak detection service and repair.
Determining pool water capacity
Before you can calculate how much it will cost you to fill your pool, you must determine its capacity. Usually, you can get that information from your pool builder, but if you don’t have any clue about it, there’s a simple formula that can give a pretty accurate ballpark.
Rectangular pools
To determine the total water volume in gallons for a rectangular pool, you must apply the formula below:
Length A x Length B x Depth x 7.5 = Total Water Volume
If your pool has shallow and deep ends, you might want to calculate the average water depth of the shallow end and add the average water depth of the deep end.
Circular Pools
To determine a circular pool water volume in gallons, apply this formula:
Length A x Length B x Depth x 5.9 = Total Water Volume
Pool Volume Calculator
You can also use our pool volume calculator to determine how much capacity your pool has.
How much does it cost to fill a pool with water
Once you have calculated how many gallons of water your pool holds, you can estimate how much it will cost to fill with water. Pretty much, most swimming pools on average, hold between 15,000 to 30,000 water gallons.
That might seem like a lot, but keep in mind that an average family of 4 can use up between 10,000 to 12,000 gallons of water per month. Municipal water rates in the United States vary tremendously and its price can range between $4 to $10 per 1,000 gallons. So depending on your pool size, the price to fill your pool could be somewhere between $80 to $300.
You can get the water price per gallon information directly from your water company.
Pool water delivery costs
In general terms, having pool water delivered to your home is more expensive compared to using well water. However, it has added benefits so sometimes it can pay off to have your pool water delivered.
Pool water cost can vary greatly depending on where you live and how far away you live from the water delivery company. Other factors are what time of year you want to fill your pool and on how much water you need.
On average, pool water delivery companies in the United States have a standard price range of $175-350 per 6,000-gallon tank. But again, it can vary dramatically depending on your location.
Some companies even offer discounts for multiple leads, so the best thing you can do to estimate how much it costs to fill in your pool is calling your nearest pool water delivery service and ask for a consultation.
Either way you choose to fill your pool, Sutro pool chemical monitor is your best partner when it comes to keeping up with your water’s chemistry. It will check your water levels 3 times a day and keep you posted via app so you can have clear and clean water for your enjoyment at all times.