Port St. Lucie Leak Detection Pool leak or slab leak: how to tell which one you have
A high water bill in Port St. Lucie has three common explanations, and they need three different phone calls. Sorting out which one you have takes about an hour and costs nothing.
The one-hour test
Step 1: turn off the pool’s auto-fill. If the pool has one, this is essential, because an auto-fill will mask a pool leak entirely by silently replacing what it loses. Nothing looks wrong until the bill arrives.
Step 2: mark the pool’s water level precisely with tape on the tile.
Step 3: shut off the water supply to the house at the main, with everything inside closed.
Step 4: read the meter, wait an hour, read it again.
| Result | What it means | Who to call |
|---|---|---|
| Meter moves with the house isolated | Loss on the supply side, before or under the house | A licensed plumber |
| Meter still, pool level drops | The pool is leaking | A pool leak detection company |
| Meter still, pool level holds | No active leak; check irrigation, splash-out, evaporation | Probably nobody |
| Both | It happens, and more often than people expect | Both, and settle the house side first |
If you only do one thing on this page, do that test. It separates a $250 pool detection visit from a plumbing call, and it stops you paying the wrong trade to come and look.
What points to the house
- A warm spot on the floor, which is a hot-water slab leak.
- The sound of running water with everything off.
- Damp flooring, baseboards, or carpet with no obvious source.
- A water heater cycling more than it should.
- The meter’s leak indicator spinning with all fixtures closed.
Any of these is a plumber’s job. A pool leak tech should say so on the phone rather than taking a booking, because a pool company diagnosing a house slab leak is not doing you a service.
What points to the pool
- The level drops and stops at a particular height, which tells you where the leak is. The skimmer and light pages cover the two most common.
- The drop rate changes when the pump runs or stops, which points at plumbing on one side or the other.
- A wet spot in the yard or a soggy deck section near the pool.
- Pavers sinking or lifting, or a deck section that has moved.
- Air in the system: bubbles at the returns, a pump losing prime.
- The auto-fill running constantly when you can hear it.
What is normal, before you assume anything
Treasure Coast evaporation is real. On an uncovered pool in summer, a quarter inch a day is unremarkable, and a screen enclosure cuts that somewhat. Add splash-out from actual use and a backwash or two, and a pool can look like it is leaking when it is not.
The bucket test settles it in 24 hours for free: fill a bucket, stand it on a step, mark inside and outside levels, wait a day with the pump on its normal schedule, and compare. If the pool drops more than the bucket, you have a leak. The bucket test post has the detail and the normal water loss post has the local numbers.
The irrigation possibility
The third explanation, and a common one here. A stuck valve, a broken lateral, or a head that weeps can move a great deal of water without showing anything obvious on well-drained sandy soil. If the meter moves with the house isolated, do not assume slab leak until you have ruled out irrigation, because the fix is dramatically cheaper.
Run the test again with the irrigation system isolated too, if your setup allows it.
What we do and do not cover
Covered: locating and repairing leaks in pool shells, skimmers, light niches, returns, main drains, and pool plumbing, using pressure testing, dye testing, and electronic leak location, with the pool full. Flat detection fee, separate written repair quote.
Not covered: house domestic plumbing, slab leaks inside the house envelope, or irrigation systems. Those belong to a licensed plumber or an irrigation contractor.
The useful overlap is settling which one you have, and the one-hour test above does that before anybody charges you anything.
What to expect on the call
Note what the meter test showed, what the bucket test showed, where the pool level stabilises, and whether the rate changes with the pump. If the answer is that you need a plumber, you will hear that. If it is the pool, detection is a flat $250–$400 for a standard residential pool and produces a written report and a separate repair quote. The cost calculator prices it.
We cover Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Jensen Beach, Stuart, Palm City, Port Salerno, and St. Lucie West.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I tell a pool leak from a house leak?
Shut the water off to the house at the main and read the meter. If the meter keeps moving with the house isolated, the loss is on the supply side before the house, which is a plumbing problem. If the meter is still but the pool keeps dropping, it is the pool. That test takes an hour and costs nothing.
Do you fix slab leaks?
We handle pool leaks only: locating and repairing leaks in pool shells, fittings, and pool plumbing. A slab leak in the house's domestic water lines is a licensed plumber's work, and we will say so rather than take the job. What helps first is settling which of the two you actually have.
Can an auto-fill hide a pool leak?
Completely, and this is how most high water bills in this situation happen. An auto-fill keeps the pool at its level while quietly replacing everything the leak loses, so nothing looks wrong until the bill arrives. Shut the auto-fill off for a day and mark the tile.
What are the signs of a slab leak specifically?
A warm spot on the floor, the sound of running water with all fixtures off, unexplained damp in flooring or baseboards, a water heater or pump running more than it should, and a meter that moves with everything closed. Any of those wants a plumber rather than a pool company.