How Much Does It Cost to Fill a Pool? Hose, Truck and Meter

How much does it cost to fill a pool? Anything from a bump in your water bill to several tanker loads for a big in-ground pool. It comes down to the pool's gallons, the water source, and whether you pay for gallons through your meter or for a tanker's trips. A 20,000-gallon in-ground pool filled by garden hose on city water adds 20,000 gallons to your next bill, plus sewer charges if your utility bills sewer on water use. The same pool by tanker is usually 3 to 4 loads, and the load count sets the delivered price.

Below are the four ways people pay for pool water, laid out by pool size, so you can compare them before you turn on a tap or book a truck.

Cost by pool size at a glance

Your quote gives the exact delivered price for the loads. Our pricing page explains what moves it. Hose times assume a garden hose on an outdoor tap at about 5 to 10 gallons a minute.

On city water the hose almost always costs less per gallon, and the gap grows with the size of the pool. The truck saves time, and it becomes the only sensible choice when the hose isn't really an option: a private well, fresh plaster that can't sit half-filled, or a date you have to hit. The cost by pool size guide extends this table to more shapes and depths.

What you pay on a garden hose (water plus sewer)

Your utility bills water per 1,000 gallons or per CCF (one CCF is 100 cubic feet, or 748 gallons). Take the rate off your last bill and the math fits on one line:

gallons ÷ 1,000 x your rate per 1,000 gallons = water cost of the fill

A 20,000-gallon pool is 20 times your utility's rate per thousand gallons. Rates vary several-fold between utilities, so use the rate on your own bill.

A few things push the real hose cost above that line.

Sewer is the big one. Many utilities bill sewer on the same gallons that go through the meter, on the assumption that the water goes back down the drain. Pool water doesn't, and where sewer is billed on use it can cost as much as the water or more. Some utilities will credit the sewer part of a one-time fill if you call before you start, and others won't, so ask before you open the tap.

Tiered rates come next. A fill lands inside one billing cycle, and on a tiered rate the extra 20,000 gallons are billed in your utility's upper tiers, so the pool water can cost more per gallon than your everyday use.

Then there are restrictions. During drought some areas ban or limit filling pools from the tap and fine people who do it anyway. Delivered water isn't exempt everywhere either, so check the local rule before you pick a method.

The water bill guide shows how to read your rate sheet and ask for the sewer credit.

What a tanker delivery costs per load

Water haulers price by the load or the trip instead of the gallon. A tanker typically carries 6,000 to 8,000 gallons, and the price of a load depends on where you live. Most of the hauler's cost is the trip itself (driving to the water source, filling, driving to you and unloading), so a partial load usually costs about the same as a full one. That's why the rounding matters so much. On an 8,000-gallon truck, 8,100 gallons is two loads.

The per-load price moves with the distance from the hauler's water source to you, with peak timing such as spring weekends and same-day requests, and with whether you need potable water. Hose reach matters too. With us, the first 300 feet of hose from where the truck parks are included, a longer run adds a hose charge, shown in your quote.

A hot tub on city water is almost never a truck job. Four hundred gallons is roughly 40 to 80 minutes on a hose, and sending a truck for that much water means paying for a whole trip.

Hydrant meters and other city options

Can you skip the hose and the truck and fill straight from a fire hydrant? Usually not as a homeowner. Utilities that rent hydrant meters mostly rent them to contractors and haulers, typically with a deposit and a rental fee on top of the metered water. Haulers often fill from exactly this kind of meter or from a bulk water station, which is why the tanker price already includes the water.

As for the fire department, in most towns the answer is no. A few small-town departments do offer paid pool fills to residents in their district, often from small tankers of non-potable water. Can the fire department fill a pool covers who to ask and what to expect.

Filling from a well still costs money

Nothing shows up on a bill, but the costs land in other places.

• The pump runs for a long time. At 5 to 10 gallons a minute, a 20,000-gallon fill keeps a pump sized for showers and dishwashers running for 33 to 67 hours. That's electricity, plus wear on a pump that is expensive to replace.
• A low-yield well can be drawn down faster than it recovers, and a pump that runs dry can burn out.
• Well water often carries iron, manganese or sulfur. You can't see them until chlorine goes in, and then they can stain plaster and turn the water brown or green. The fix is sequestrant, filtration and sometimes a partial drain, which means replacing some of the water you just put in.

Plenty of well owners top off from the well and truck in the big fills. Pool fills for well homes covers where that line sits.

Hidden costs people forget

Whichever method you pick, the water isn't the whole bill.

You'll need start-up chemicals either way. Fresh water, delivered or from the tap, needs alkalinity, pH, calcium hardness, stabilizer and sanitizer brought into range, so budget for a test kit and a first round of chemicals.

Measuring wrong costs money too. Measure by wall height instead of water depth and your quote comes out bigger than it needs to be, although we don't charge for loads not yet dispatched when the pool is full. Under-measure and you need another trip at the quoted per-load price, which we ask you about first.

Access on the day can cost you as well. If a locked gate or no legal place to park stops the delivery, a dry-run fee of 50% of one load applies. Cancelling inside 24 hours costs 20% of the quoted price, although moving to a new date within 30 days is free. A quick check of the gate and the parking the day before avoids both.

Then there's your own time. Two days of checking a hose is easy to underrate until the pool overflows at 2 am or the hose pops out and waters the lawn at the metered rate.

How to work out your own number in five minutes

1. Get the gallons. Measure in feet and use the how many gallons is my pool calculator, or the formulas: rectangle length x width x average depth x 7.5, round diameter x diameter x depth x 5.9, oval length x width x depth x 6.7. Measure depth to where the water line will be, not the top of the wall.
2. Price the hose. Gallons ÷ 1,000 x the rate on your bill gives the water cost. If your utility bills sewer on water use and won't give a pool-fill credit, add the sewer rate on the same gallons. Gallons ÷ your flow in gallons a minute ÷ 60 gives hours.
3. Price the truck. Gallons ÷ 6,000 to 8,000, rounded up, gives loads, and your quote turns the loads into one exact figure.
4. Apply the overrides. On a well, with new plaster, under a drought restriction on tap fills, or with a date you can't move, the truck is usually the answer whatever the arithmetic says. On city water with a small pool and no deadline, the hose usually is.
5. Decide. If the two numbers are close, a few hours of delivery beats two days of watching a hose. If the hose is far cheaper and you have the time, use the hose.

The cheapest way to fill a pool guide runs this decision for each situation, with the trade-offs spelled out.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to fill a 20,000-gallon pool?

By tanker it's usually 3 to 4 loads, and your quote gives the delivered price for them. By hose on city water it's 20 times your utility's rate per 1,000 gallons, plus sewer where it's billed, and 33 to 67 hours of running water.

Is it cheaper to fill a pool with a hose or a truck?

On city water the hose usually wins per gallon, often by a wide margin. The truck comes out ahead once you count a worn-out well pump, a ring line in new plaster, or a party date you would otherwise miss. Check your bill, run the one-line math above and compare.

Why does a half-empty truck cost the same as a full one?

Because the hauler is really selling the trip. Driving to the water source, filling, driving to you and unloading take about the same time whether 4,000 or 8,000 gallons come out of the hose. That's also why a small top-off on city water is almost always a hose job.

Does my water company charge sewer on a pool fill?

Many do, because sewer is often billed on metered water use. Some utilities credit the sewer portion of a one-time pool fill if you call before filling, and some read the meter before and after. It's worth the call, since on a big pool the credit adds up.

Does the tanker price include the water?

Yes. The quoted per-load price covers the water, the truck and driver, and the first 300 feet of hose. If you need potable water, for a cistern instead of a pool, say so, as that can cost more.

Know your gallons? Send us the ZIP and the size and you'll see an estimate on screen right away. A person then sends one delivered price, usually within 1 to 2 business hours, and tells you if the hose is the smarter call. Get your delivered price.