Is It a Leak — or Just Evaporation?
Florida pools lose water every day — the question is how much is normal. Enter your pool's measurements below and our calculator separates natural evaporation from real leak loss, then shows you exactly what that leak is costing you in water, sewer, and chemicals.
Watch the waterline
Choose your method
Pool shape & size
Closest match is fineHow far did the water drop?
The bucket measures pure evaporation, so whatever your pool loses beyond the bucket is leak. Haven't run it yet? Follow our field procedure below — it takes 5 minutes to set up.
Your water rate
Optional — pre-set for Tampa BayDefault blends typical Tampa Bay area water + sewer charges (≈$11 per 1,000 gallons). Check your utility bill for your exact combined rate — many bills charge sewer on every gallon of water metered, including what your leak wastes.
Your Result
Leak Verdict
Not sure how to measure? Mark your waterline with a strip of painter's tape, wait 24 hours with the pump off, and measure the drop with a ruler.
See the full breakdown
| Pool surface area | — |
| Total water drop per day | — |
| Evaporation allowance | — |
| Leak loss per day | — |
| Total gallons lost per day | — |
| Leak gallons per day | — |
| Water + sewer cost / month | — |
| Chemical & treatment cost / month | — |
Estimates only. Evaporation varies with sun, wind, humidity and water temperature; heated pools and spas evaporate faster. Cost figures use your entered utility rate plus a modest chemical-replacement estimate. For a definitive answer, nothing beats a professional detection — ours are backed by written findings and a 60-day warranty.
Straight From Our Field Manual
The Bucket Test, done properly.
Most bucket-test guides online skip the steps that actually make it accurate. This is the same procedure our technicians follow before a detection — simplified for your pool. Set-up takes about five minutes, then the pool does the rest.
Shut the system down
Turn the breaker off or put your equipment in service mode, with the pool filled to its proper running level. A running pump masks leaks in the plumbing — the water must be completely still for the whole test.
Fill & mark a bucket
Fill a bucket to within about 1″ of the rim and mark the waterline with a pencil. Our techs draw a diagonal line through the waterline, then a second line crossing it exactly at the water's surface — a “y” mark you can read precisely a day later.
Place it on the top step
Set the bucket on the top pool step so it sits at least half-submerged in pool water, with roughly the same sun exposure as the rest of the pool. Sitting in the water keeps the bucket at pool temperature, so both evaporate at the same rate.
Mark the pool & wait 24 hours
Mark the pool's waterline the same way — tape or a pencil line on the tile, placed near the middle of the pool's long side (water “rocks” more at the narrow ends). Then leave everything alone for at least 24 hours. No swimming, no topping off.
Reading your result
After 24 hours, measure how far each waterline dropped. A healthy pool should stay within about 1/16″ of the bucket per day — that tiny difference is measurement noise, not a leak. If the pool dropped noticeably more than the bucket, the difference is real leak loss.
Take your two numbers back up to the calculator's Bucket Test mode and it will convert that difference into gallons and dollars — and tell you whether it's time to bring us in.
Advanced Leak Detection field procedure · Since 1997Evaporation vs. Leak
Florida takes its share. Leaks take more.
Every pool on the West Coast of Florida loses water to the sun — typically 1/8″ to 1/4″ per day, and more in the windy, low-humidity stretches of spring. Heated pools and spas evaporate faster still, because warm water gives itself up to cool night air. That part is physics, and no repair can stop it.
A leak is different. Leak loss doesn't slow down on cloudy days, doesn't care about humidity, and often accelerates as the leak erodes whatever it's escaping through. Left alone, escaping water doesn't just inflate your bill — it can wash out the soil supporting your pool shell and deck, turning a cheap fix into a structural one.
Our calculator subtracts a seasonal Tampa Bay evaporation estimate from your measured drop — or better, uses your own bucket test readings — so the number you see is leak, and only leak.
Beyond the water level, watch for:
- Soggy or sunken spots in the lawn or deck near the pool or its plumbing runs
- Air bubbles blowing from the return jets, or a pump that struggles to hold prime
- Cracks or gaps around skimmers, tile lines, lights, or the shell itself
- Chemical demand creeping up — constant refilling dilutes chlorine, salt, and stabilizer
- The autofill running constantly — it can hide a serious leak for months
Calculator questions, answered
How accurate is this calculator?
How much water loss is normal in Tampa Bay?
My result says "likely leak." What happens next?
Will my pool leak get worse if I wait?
Does a leak mean my pool needs to be dug up?
What does a professional detection cost?
Numbers Don't Lie
The calculator finds the loss.
We find the leak.
A calculator tells you whether you're leaking — our technicians tell you exactly where, and exactly what it takes to fix it, with written findings and repairs that don't require draining or demolition. Serving Tampa Bay & Sarasota since 1997.