1.

Introduction
Contract No: BDA/CT/27/2020

Contract Title: Supply, Installation, Testing and Commissioning Pool Water Filtration and
Water Treatment Services at BDA Swimming Pool, Bintulu

Commencement: 7th December 2020

Scope of Work: Under Summary of Tender:- Section 09, To perform swimming pool
condition assessment for pool shell/ structure leakage and balancing tank and other
problem which may lead to low efficiency of pool system after the rectification of above list
works with details of recommendation report. This method statement for assessment to be
submitted to SO/SOR/SR before proceeding with the assessment works.
2. Method of Investigation

Generally, it is common for water to be loss through evaporation in any swimming pool. As observe
through drastic drop in water elevation (by the hour) and soaring electricity bills of the BDA Dewan
Suarah Swimming Pool, it is with strong indication of a possibility there exist leakage at the current main
pool and children pool. On the day of Leakage testing (17 th December 2020), all pumps was shut down
with delivery valves and return valves all closed. Both tanks were fully filled prior to the pool closing.
This is to ensure any water losses are mainly due to evaporation and inside perimeter of pool leakages.

A leakage test is done to quantify the severity of the water loss in both swimming pool. In this
report, main pool is denoted as Tank 1 while children pool is denoted as Tank 2. The investigation
method consists of comparison of Method (A) Water Elevation Test (24hours) and Method (B)
Evaporation Rate Formula.

2.1 Method (A): Water Elevation test (24 hours):-

Figure 1 Water loss measurement concept for drop in water elevation

1) The balance gauge is used to obtain initial measuring position which were supported by loose
tiles along the balance gauge.
2) Once initial measuring location is identified, the measuring tape is pulled down until the tip of
the tape touches the surface of water. To avoid parallax error, the reading is taken properly by
aligning our eyesight along with the water level.
3) The reading is taken and rechecked on the spot for consistent result.
4) Drop in water level is multiplied with pool surface area to identify water loss.
5) Both swimming pools (big and small) is measured using this method every two hours (except for
night (taken 6pm to next day 10am).

Figure 2 On site measuring of water drop in elevation

2.2 Method (B): Evaporation Rate Formula:-

Table 1: Nomenclature defined for swimming pool evaporation rate of Stiver and Mackay
Evaporation Equation 1

PAW
E=
T +459.67
(Eq. 1)
SI
AMERICAN
conversion

E EVAPORATION RATE (GALLONS/DAY) 3.785L/DAY

P WATER'S VAPOR PRESSURE (mmHG) 133.32 Pa

A POOL SURFACE AREA FT2 0.0929m2

W WIND SPEED ABOVE POOL mph 1.609 kmh

*(F - 32) x
T TEMPERATURE 0
F 5/9
(Celcius)
 The formula used is based on American Unit, thus the end calculation in Gallons per day will be
converted to litres per day. The result of data collection is cross-checked and compared with the Stiver
and Mackay Evaporation Equation 1 as explained below:-

a) The data for wind speed, water vapor pressure and temperature was recorded every 2
hours from 10am on 17/12/2020 till 18/12/2020 (except for night time after 6pm)
b) The three parameters recorded was plug in to Eq. 1 to identify the water loss through
evaporation throughout the day and thus we know the minimum allowable water to be loss
through evaporation.
c) The total volume of water in the tank will take in to consideration of the water loss and
identify how much elevation is allowed to be drop in 24 hours.
d) If water loss exceeded 20% of allowable water loss, there exist high possibility of leakage in
the swimming pools.

The wind speed and temperature of Bintulu is recorded for every measurement of drop in pool
water elevation. This allows us to give an average in total water loss due to evaporation per day and per
hour. The calculated allowable water loss due to evaporation is produce below for both Tank 1 and Tank
2 with investigation time of 24 hours:-

A) Evaporation rate in total for Tank 1 (Main Pool)

Table 2: Calculated evaporation rate from Tank 1based on weather conditions in Bintulu.

Nomencla 10AM- 12PM- 2PM- 4PM- 6PM-

MAIN POOL Duration
ture 12PM 2PM 4PM 6PM 10AM
WATER'S VAPOR 4.23957 4.2395
P (mmHG) 3.772956 3.9996 3.772956
PRESSURE 6 76
POOL SURFACE
A FT2 95.704 95.704 95.704 95.704 95.704
AREA
WIND SPEED
W mph 8 0.1 8 10 10
ABOVE POOL
0
T TEMPERATURE F 28 30 30 29 28
EVAPORATION (GALLONS/ 3192.788 71.6806 3563.9 4216.7 3990.985
E
RATE DAY) 255 861 869 24 319
VALUES CONVERTED TO SI UNIT

EVAPORATION 12084.70 271.311 13489. 15960. 15105.87

E L/DAY
RATE 355 397 69 3 943
BASED ON
EVAPORATION 1007.058 22.6092 1124.1 1330.0 10070.59
E SITE
RATE 629 831 409 25 2
WEATHER
Total: 13554 L/ 24hours

Source: https://weather.com/weather/today/l/3.17,113.04?par=google&temp=c 2
*Wind speed at 0km/hr was adjusted to 0.1 km/hr to avoid irregular data comparison.

B) Evaporation rate in total for Tank 2 (Children Pool)

Table 3: Calculated evaporation rate from Tank 1based on weather conditions in Bintulu.

Nomencla 10AM- 12PM- 2PM- 4PM- 6PM-

CHILDREN POOL Duration
ture 12PM 2PM 4PM 6PM 10AM
WATER'S VAPOR 4.23957 4.2395
P (mmHG) 3.772956 3.9996 3.772956
PRESSURE 6 76
POOL SURFACE
A FT2 95.704 95.704 95.704 95.704 95.704
AREA
WIND SPEED
W mph 8 0.1 8 10 10
ABOVE POOL
0
T TEMPERATURE F 28 30 30 29 28
EVAPORATION (GALLONS/ 267.4019 6.00339 298.49 353.15 334.2524
E
RATE DAY) 867 15 057 86 833
values converted to SI unit
EVAPORATION 1012.116 22.7228 1129.7 1336.7 1265.145
E L/DAY
RATE 519 368 868 05 649
EVAPORATION L/ Duration 84.34304 1.89356 94.148 111.39
E 843.424
RATE Measured 329 974 899 21
Total: 1135 L/ 24hours

Source: https://weather.com/weather/today/l/3.17,113.04?par=google&temp=c

Evaporation rate is highly affected by the wind speed. As observe at very low wind speed in the
afternoon between 12-2PM, the evaporation rate drops 1.89L through that period which is also the
lowest water loss throughout the day.

The total values of water loss through evaporation is summed at the bottom of Table 2 and Table 3
which are the allowable water loss that will be used in this report as a reference to identify possibility of
water loss due to leakage. We will also allow for any variation of 10% difference for water loss through
evaporationto still be accepted as maximum of 1355.4L for Tank 1 and 113.5L for Tank 2. The severity of
leakage will be concluded in section 5.
3. Location

3.1 BDA Swimming Pool

The BDA Swimming Pool is located by the Bintulu Civic Centre at Jalan Tum Datuk Patinggi Haji
Ahmad Zaidi, 97000 Bintulu, Sarawak situated roughly 20.6km from the airport and can be reach
within 26min by car.

3.2 Size of Swimming Pool

MAIN
POOL

CHILDREN
POOL

Figure 3 Drawing of main pool and children pool

a) Tank 1 (Main Pool)

 UNIT L W D SURFACE AREA VOLUME Litres Gallons
FT 150 82 5 12300 61500    
1741.93 460169.
M 45.72 25 1.524 1143 1.741M
2 8

b) Tank 2 (Children Pool)

VOLUM
UNIT L W D SURFACE AREA Litres Gallons
E
FT 46 24 3 1104 3312    
24775.4
M 14.0208 7.3152 0.9144 102.5649562 93.7854 93785.4
8

Due to curves and unsymmetrical edges, the small pool deducts those parts to give a total surface area
as below,

Total Surface Area Small Pool

= 1104-[3(3ft x 3ft)/2 + 4.6X13.12]
= 1030.148 ft2
= 95.704 m2
Volume of water (L)
= 87511.7 L
4. Site Condition

In this section, we will discuss on the current site condition of BDA Swimming Pool . The site
consist of Tank 1, Tank 2 and Pump room. Next to the Pump room is the balancing tanks beneath
ground level. No interruption of rain on site for the period of 17-18 December 2020.

a) Tank 1 (Main Pool)

Figure 4 Tank 1 Main Pool with a total surface area of 1143m2.

Tank 1 was observed to have moderate water loss with drop in elevation within 0.5-2 cm every 2
hours. Nonetheless, this does translates to huge water loss due to the large surface area of Tank 1.
Water loss in Tank 1 may be considered minor as the tank still have high water retention but it is advice
that Tank 1 requires further refine approach to fully understand its leakage and this is proven via results
in Section 5. The results acknowledges Tank 1 produced 4 times more water loss compared to allowable
water loss through evaporation.

Figure 5 Tank 1 elevation drop measured with BDA poolman.

b) Tank 2 (Children’s Pool)

Figure 6 Tank 2 is the Children's Pool with smaller surface area of 95.7m 2.

Tank 2 displayed a more apparent water drop as results in Section 5 suggest an average of 1-3
cm drop in water level every 2 hours. We can see the rate of water loss by elevation is nearly double
of the Tank 1. For a Swimming Pool with nearly 10 time smaller surface area than Tank 1 is very
critical. This is because a smaller surface area should be facing less Evaporation Rate as referred to
Eq. 1.

The discussion on Tank 2 can be observed in few main parts as below:-

 Condition of Tank 2 after 24 hour test

Figure 7 On day 2 after the test, it is observed thatlarge portion of water is lost.
  Seepage through floor tiles

Figure 8 Apparent seepage through tiles middle of pool.

 Seepage at wall corners

Figure 9 Non continuous sealant along wall corners.

On the third day of pool closing, it is observed that Tank 2 have fully emptied while Tank 1 still
retains nearly 80% of water available.
 Swimming pool water level drop (cm) measurement
90
80
70
Level drop (cm)

60
50 Small Pool
40 Big Pool
30
20
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Readings taken

5. Outcome

Figure 10 Water loss as measured on site on water level.

In this section we will discuss on water losses that is allowable and compare it with actual water
loss in both tanks. An elaboration for each tanks is written for a clear understanding on the current
Pool condition.

5.1 Tank 1 (Main Pool)

Table 4: Comparison of calculated allowable water loss with actual water loss for Tank 1

Time    Big Pool

Allowable Drop
Evaporation Actual Site Actual Drop Water
  No. Water
(L) (L) Level (cm)
Level (cm)
10AM (17Dec2020) 1 1007.0586 0.088 13716 1.2
  2 22.609283 0.0019 14859 1.3
  3 1124.1409 0.098 3429 0.3
  4 1330.0252 0.116 157.9116 0.01
10AM (18Dec2020) 5 10070.592 0.881 28575 2.5
           
Total Loss (24hrs)   13554.426 1.19 60736.9116 5.31
Avg. Loss/ Hour   564.76775 0.049583333 2530.70465 0.22125
4.46 Times More
%diff of Actual and Calculated     446%
Than Allowable
 There exist nearly 4.46 times more water loss than allowable due to evaporation in Tank 1. On a
daily basis it is apparent that minor drop in elevation is found (5.31cm). Thus, it will take roughly 3-4
weeks for the tank to be fully emptied assuming the depth of the pool is 5 feet.

Commonly minor leakages may exist due to expansion and contraction of tile along the
years. Water may loss in between the tiles minor cracks (may be patched). Unless the cracks are
large enough it can be further tested with dye with the valve all closed. Regardless Tank 1
requires a refine study on the shell of the pool in identifying the cracks/ tears.

5.2 Tank 2 (Children’s Pool)

Table 4: Comparison of calculated allowable water loss with actual water loss for Tank 2

Time Small Pool

Allowable Drop
Evaporation Actual Site Actual Drop Water Level
No. Water
(L) (L) (cm)
Level (cm)
10AM
1 84.3430433 0.082233748 1722.672 1.8
(17Dec2020)
2 1.89356974 0.001846214 2584.008 2.7
3 94.1488992 0.091794374 3158.232 3.3
4 111.392094 0.108606341 1626.968 1.7
10AM
5 843.424 0.822331205 16748.2 17.5
(18Dec2020)

Total Loss (24hrs) 1135.20161 1.106811881 25840.08 27

Avg. Loss/ Hour 47.3000669 0.046117162 1076.67 1.125
24.4 Times More Than
%diff 2439%
Allowable

On the other hand, there exist nearly 24.4 times more water loss than allowable due to
evaporation in Tank 2. The tank emptied within 3 days as the tank is designed with a 3ft depth.
Major concern is towards Tank 2 as results shown the water loss was 24.4 time more than
allowable water loss due to evaporation.

As discussed in Section 4, the shell of the swimming pool has observed to show
seepages through tiles and wall corners. As the water did not stabilize at any particular level in
Tank 2 it is understandable that Tank 2 requires to be patch top to bottom. Leaks in the tile line
commonly due to expansion and contraction of the tiles over the years which eventually worn
out the structural integrity of the pool sealant.
 In terms of fittings, it is also required to patch up the nozzles and light fittings for to
improve overall retention of water in both tanks.

Underground plumbing leaks are one of the rare factor in pool leakage. Due to the
limitation of the study, we were not able to conduct any further test in that region.

There also observed water weeping to the drain, where the poolmans have attach a
pipe by the pool and directed any water undergorund towards the drain. Nonetheless, this
method was not able to clarify the water comes from the pool or the ground (due to rain) as no
consistency in water output.
6. Material

7. Proposed Solution

8. Estimated Cost

9. Conclusion

10. Reference

1. Bubbico R, Mazzarotta B. Predicting Evaporation Rates from Pools. In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
TRANSACTIONS. Epub ahead of print 2016. DOI: 10.3303/CET1648009.
2. Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia Weather Forecast and Conditions - The Weather Channel |
Weather.com, https://weather.com/weather/today/l/3.17,113.04?par=google&temp=c