For a few inches of evaporation on city water, the garden hose is cheaper and we will tell you so. A truck earns its keep for a big pool that is a foot or two down, a home on a well, a leak repair that drained half the pool, or a local restriction on filling from the tap.
If you already know you need the truck, start my quote and pick "Top-off" on the form.
Who a top-off by truck is for
- Large pools that are well down. A 20 x 40 ft pool loses about 500 gallons per inch. A foot down is 6,000 gallons, a full load and a full day of hose.
- Homes on a well. Top-offs of an inch or two are usually fine for a well. A big one can run the pump for hours, draw down a low-yield well and pull iron or sediment into the pool. More on pool fills for well homes.
- After a leak repair. Pools are often drained below the leak for the fix, which can mean thousands of gallons to put back.
- Drought or water-use restrictions. During drought some areas restrict filling pools from the tap. Rules differ by city and utility, and delivered water is not exempt everywhere, so check your local rules before you book either way.
- Too slow for the date. A party Saturday and the pool 8 inches down Friday.
Pool evaporation math: inches to gallons
Every inch your pool loses is a fixed number of gallons, set by the surface area. One square foot of surface, one inch deep, holds about 0.62 gallons (7.48 gallons per cubic foot, divided by 12). Multiply surface area in square feet by 0.62 for gallons per inch.
| Pool surface | Surface area | Gallons per inch | 6 inches down | 12 inches down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 x 30 ft rectangle | 450 sq ft | about 280 gal | 1,700 gal | 3,400 gal |
| 16 x 32 ft rectangle | 512 sq ft | about 320 gal | 1,900 gal | 3,800 gal |
| 20 x 40 ft rectangle | 800 sq ft | about 500 gal | 3,000 gal | 6,000 gal |
| 18 ft round | 254 sq ft | about 160 gal | 950 gal | 1,900 gal |
| 24 ft round | 452 sq ft | about 280 gal | 1,700 gal | 3,400 gal |
Figures are rounded. How fast a pool loses water depends on sun, wind, humidity, water temperature and whether you cover it; a hot, dry, windy week takes far more than a cool, still one. To measure yours, mark the level on the tile and check it a week later with the cover off. A sudden drop, or loss with the cover on, points to a leak. For total volume, use the gallons calculator.
Loads and typical cost: the minimum-load economics
| Top-off | Gallons | Truck | Typical range (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A few inches on a 16 x 32 | 1,000 to 2,000 gal | One minimum load, mostly unused | $250 to $600 |
| A foot down on a 20 x 40 | about 6,000 gal | One load | $250 to $600 |
| Half-drained 25,000 gal pool after a repair | about 12,500 gal | 2 loads | $500 to $1,200 |
| The same few inches by hose on city water | 1,000 to 2,000 gal | 2 to 7 hours of hose | Your metered water rate, usually far less than a load |
You pay for the trip rather than the gallons, so a top-off is worth a truck when the gallons get close to a load, or when the hose is not an option. Full ranges are on the pricing page.
How a partial pool fill works
- Measure how far down you are. Inches below the middle of the skimmer opening is the number we need.
- Request the quote. ZIP, pool size, "Top-off", inches down, hose distance from where a truck can park, gate, and your date. Say if you are on a well or under a water restriction.
- We check whether a truck makes sense. If the gallons are small and you are on city water with a tap nearby, the reply says use the hose. Otherwise we book our vetted hauler for you.
- One delivered price. Usually within 1-2 business hours, held for 7 days, nothing booked until you accept.
- Delivery. The truck parks on the street or driveway, runs its hose up to about 300 feet, and stops at mid-skimmer. Loads not dispatched when the pool is full are not charged.
Steps in more detail on how it works.
Before the truck arrives
- Find the leak first if you suspect one. Water loss with the cover on needs a leak check before a fill.
- Unlock the gate and clear the hose route.
- Plan to test and rebalance afterwards. Thousands of gallons of fresh water shift alkalinity, pH, calcium and sanitizer. The after-the-fill checklist covers it.
A worked example
A 16 x 32 ft pool on a private well, drained 24 inches below normal for a return-line repair.
- Gallons to replace: 24 inches x 320 gallons per inch = about 7,700 gallons.
- By truck: one 8,000-gallon load fits it. On 6,000-gallon trucks it is two loads, the second only partly used; your quote makes that call. Typical cost $250 to $600 per load.
- By well: at 5 to 10 gallons a minute, the pump runs 13 to 26 hours straight on a well sized for showers and dishwashers. That is where the truck is the obvious answer.
Now the same pool, 4 inches down in August, on city water: 4 x 320 = about 1,300 gallons. At 8 gallons a minute that is under three hours of hose, billed at your normal water rate. Use the hose.
When to just use the hose
- You are on city water with a working outdoor tap and no restriction.
- The pool is down a few inches, not a foot.
- You have a few hours. Two hoses on separate spigots roughly halve the time.
The full comparison is in trucked water vs a hose fill. If you need a full refill instead, see pool refill after draining.
One delivered price from a vetted hauler
Every top-off goes to one of our local water haulers, and our haulers are vetted, insured and bonded. We confirm loads, hose reach and date before your price goes out, and if the right answer is "use the hose", that is what the reply says. One delivered price, one point of contact, nothing charged before delivery.
Get a straight answer on your top-off
Tell us the ZIP, the pool size, how many inches it is down and whether you are on a well. A person sends you one delivered price, or tells you to use the hose. Get your delivered price.
