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Home Property, housing and rates Home improvements and building Additions and outdoor structures Pools and spas Filling and emptying your pool

Filling and emptying your pool

When filling and emptying your pool, there's some things you'll need to take into account. 

Filling 

Our Water Supply Bylaw requires you have a backflow prevention device fitted to the pipe or hose system you use to fill the pool, to stop water from the pool being sucked back into the water supply (for example, if there's a fall in the mains water pressure).

There are four basic types of device you can have installed:

  • air gaps
  • vacuum breakers (both atmospheric and pressure type)
  • double-check valve assemblies
  • reduced pressure zone devices.

For hose-filled pools, the most common device is the hose connection vacuum breaker. These are a specialised version of the atmospheric vacuum breaker and are usually attached between the hose tap and garden hose.

Emptying

When emptying the water from your pool, you must make sure it doesn't enter the waterways. This means it can't run down the stormwater drains, because they discharge into streams and rivers. 

If your property is connected to the Council sewerage system, you can dispose of your pool water down the sewer using a gully trap. Owners with other sewage disposal systems (for example, a septic tank) should talk to us about their situation.

Filtered backwash water could contain contaminants, and must also be disposed of using a gully trap into the sewer.

Note: You might need to take precautionary measures before emptying in-ground pools where the ground water table is high or could be of concern, to prevent the pool lifting and causing structural damage.

Updated 23 May 2024