How to stop muddy runoff entering pool?

[06panashe]

 

 

 

Background

When it pours, muddy water pushes through a short timber retaining wall and finds the easiest path—straight into our in-ground concrete pool. The working strip between the pool coping and the wall is ≈ 800–900 mm, so sediment makes its way into the water and quickly clogs the cartridge filter.

Solutions we’re considering

Low catch wall / bund – 200 mm high and about 6–7 m long, faced with matching pavers and potentially incorporating a channel drain that diverts runoff to a legal discharge point.

Small “paver pit” wall – a narrow pit or trough built from stack-bonded pavers behind the coping line, letting water drop into the pit and redirecting it around the back of the pool before outfall.

Open to any other ideas

We’d love to hear what’s worked for others in tight spaces, including:

Slimline trench drains or ag-pipe/French drain systems

Waterproof membrane or flashing on the wall face

Re-grading, berms, or other runoff-redirection methods

Filter upgrades paired with partial drainage works

Any hybrid approach that can handle Brisbane downpours without blowing the budget

Site constraints & access

Working strip between coping and wall: ≈ 800–900 mm

Neighbouring land is higher and slopes toward the wall; no visible drainage in place

Access via side gate (standard residential). Power and water are on site.

Timing

Ready for site inspections now; goal is completion within 4–6 weeks.

Keen to hear your thoughts—thanks in advance for any advice, sketches, or product suggestions that can help keep the mud out of our pool!

[EricL]

Hello @06panashe 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about the runoff going into your pool.

I propose cutting a channel in your pavers in order to install the Everhard 3m EasyDRAIN Polymer Grate And Prejoined Channel if possible. I've chosen the deeper channel to accommodate any heavy downpour that may occur. If you were to use the shallow channel it would be easily overwhelmed in a matter of minutes should a storm pass by. In this manner you will be prepared for moderate to heavy rains.

The channel can make 90-degree turns if you need it to and it can also be linked to PVC pipes for proper drainage. If installed properly and the edges sealed correctly it should catch all the runoff coming from the retaining wall. 

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Dave-1]

Good Evening @06panashe 

That grill drain that @EricL has mentioned is the way I am thinking as well. Looking at your photos it looks like there is a different coloured pavers that would fit the grill drain perfectly if you lifted them and dug the depth out?

I was also thinking of using silastic and fixing a length of aluminium angle along those same pavers to catch and hold the grit. Metal Mate 30 x 30 x 3.0mm 3m Silver Aluminium Angle You would need a drop off pit at the end of the run tho.

Dave

[Nailbag]

Hi @06panashe 

Can you not simply remove the long rectangular pavers against the retaining wall and replace this with a quality grated drain system connected to the stormwater?

My preference would be to use the stainless steel grated ones which hold their shape over time making them easy to remove and replace the grates to clean. The plastic ones tend to loose shape at the ends over time and often resulting in not pressing back in flush.

Nailbag