I've been carefully tracking the water level for about a week and it's down about 0.45 inches per 24 hours. That's almost 1/2" which seems like I might have a slow leak. It's very hot right now, but not unusually windy, around 10mph. Daily high/low is around 95/75. Still, 1/2" seems like a lot.

I've had 3 leaks previously, all in the pipes that lead from the pool area to the equipment pad, which seem to be under a lot of stress. Good news is they are easy to access and fix. I'm not seeing any obvious wet spots in the area where those pipes are, which is how I ultimately confirmed the prior leaks.

I tried the famous bucket test. It's showing loss in the bucket of only 1/4" per 24 hours, compared to 1/2" in the pool. I've done this for several days with very consistent results. I'm starting to wonder if the bucket test is accurate and if there's any way to improve it?

I'm using a 5-gal plastic bucket placed on the top step, filled about halfway up and submerged to about the same level as the pool water. I had to fill it a little higher just so it wouldn't float away.

I started thinking that the surface of the water in the bucket is not exposed to the wind to the same degree as the pool water. Also, the water temperature in the bucket probably cools off faster with the lower air temperature at night as compared to the pool water. Both these factors (I think) would result in less evaporation in the bucket.

Does anyone have any advice on this? Thanks!