Pool and Spa Leak Investigation: A practical guide for trained professionals

Pool and Spa Leak Investigation: A Practical Guide for Trained Professionals provides a clear, reliable, and safety-driven workflow for diagnosing water loss in residential, commercial, and public aquatic systems. Written specifically for trained pool and spa technicians, this guide replaces guesswork and risky shortcuts with practical, scientifically grounded methods that stand up to scrutiny.

Drawing on over forty years of hands-on field experience across seven countries, David Watson explains how to work systematically-starting with simple checks and advancing through controlled, repeatable testing procedures. The book focuses on real-world application, not theory, and is built around methods technicians can use immediately in the field.

Inside you will learn:

• How to rule out false positives before escalating a job
• How to conduct evaporation tests (equipment-running and equipment-off)
• How to interpret results to distinguish shell leaks from plant or pipework issues
• How to perform safe, defensible water-only pressure-testing
• How to diagnose air entrapment vs genuine pressure loss
• When to slow down, reassess, or call for escalation
• How to communicate results clearly to clients and document them properly

This guide also includes practical examples, a glossary, an imperial appendix, and printable forms for evaporation tests and water-only pressure certificates.

Designed as a field companion-not an engineering textbook-this pocket guide promotes safe practices, reduces unnecessary excavation and misdiagnosis, and helps technicians deliver evidence-based conclusions with confidence.

For aquatic operators, service technicians, commercial pool staff, and anyone responsible for diagnosing leaks in pool or spa systems, this book provides a safe, structured approach that works in real-world conditions.