How king tides and a high water table affect your Keys pool
Short answer
King tides raise the groundwater the Keys already sit close to, which can flood equipment pads, submerge pumps and motors, and add pressure under the pool shell. The pool itself usually rides it out. The equipment on the pad and any electrical at ground level are what take the damage.
If you are new to the Keys, the first king tide is a surprise: water bubbling up through the ground on a sunny day, streets and yards flooding with no rain in sight. For pool owners, king tides are worth understanding, because they act on your pool from a direction mainland owners never think about, from below.
What a king tide is
King tides are the highest tides of the year, driven by the sun, moon and Earth lining up, usually in the fall. In the Keys, where the land barely clears sea level and sits on porous limestone, a king tide does not just raise the ocean. It raises the groundwater everywhere, including right under your pool and equipment pad. The water you see pooling in low yards during a king tide is the same groundwater that surrounds your pool shell.
What it does to a pool
- The pool itself is usually fine. As long as it stays full, the water inside holds it down against the higher groundwater. This is the same reason you never drain a Keys pool.
- The equipment pad is the weak point. Pumps, motors, heaters and electrical sitting at ground level can end up standing in salty water. Motors that get submerged often fail, and salt water in electrical connections causes corrosion and faults for months afterward.
- Salt intrusion. King-tide flooding is brackish, so even a brief soak leaves salt behind on everything it touches.
How to protect your pool
- Raise the equipment. Mounting pumps, heaters and control panels on a raised pad or platform above the historic flood line is the single best defense, and it pays for itself the first time water comes up.
- Know your dates. King tides are predictable. When one is forecast, it is worth a look at the pad and a plan for the equipment.
- Kill power if water is coming. A submerged motor that was running when it flooded is far more likely to be a total loss than one that was safely off.
- Rinse and inspect afterward. Fresh water rinses the salt off, and a post-flood check catches problems before they become failures.
King tides are not an emergency, they are a season. Owners who plan for them barely notice. Owners who do not tend to meet us at the equipment pad afterward.
Related questions
- When are king tides in the Florida Keys?
- How do I protect my pool equipment from flooding?
- Should I raise my pool equipment pad?