A Chandler pool owner's guide to water, draining, disposal and permits

Most of what decides how long pool equipment lasts in Chandler isn't on the equipment pad. It's the water that fills the pool, what you do with it when it leaves, and the summers in between. This guide collects the City rules and services a pool owner actually runs into, each linked to the City page or document it comes from, so you can check the current version yourself.

How hard Chandler's water is

The City's 2025 water quality report gives Chandler's total hardness as 173 to 288 mg/L, or 10.1 to 16.8 grains per gallon (City of Chandler 2025 water quality report, p. 3). The range comes from the mix of sources: water from the Salt and Verde rivers, the Central Arizona Project's Colorado River water, and groundwater from wells (p. 2 of the same report).

Why it matters for equipment: hard water leaves scale, and summer evaporation concentrates it, because the water leaves and the minerals stay. Scale builds on salt cell plates and inside heaters first. A salt system that makes less chlorine every month is often scaled rather than worn out. See salt cell not producing chlorine and why a salt system says low salt when the water tests fine.

Draining and backwashing: the City's rules

Chandler's pool drainage page is practical and specific:

• Keep it on your property or put it in the sewer. The City prefers pool and spa water to stay on private property, and says the best place for it is your landscape. Otherwise it goes into the sanitary sewer cleanout. Backwash water doesn't need the cleanout if you can keep it on your property.
• No more than 12 gallons a minute into the cleanout. The City suggests consulting a plumber about a safe rate for your line, and says to turn the pump off immediately if water backs up.
• Finding the cleanout. It's usually a three- or four-inch black pipe near the house. If there are two, use the one closer to the home. The City warns that using a cleanout in a wall is risky, because water can back up into the house, and it doesn't keep records of where cleanouts are on private property.
• No permit is needed to drain into the sewer cleanout or onto your own property.
• Not to the street. Pipes hard-plumbed to drain off the property are prohibited, and a pool drain line mustn't be installed as a permanent fixture. If you can't find a cleanout, you can request an exception to drain to the street.

Questions go to the City's Environmental Management staff at 480-782-3503, as listed on the same page.

If you have a cartridge filter, cleaning the cartridges replaces backwashing. Our dust storm filter guide covers when a filter needs cleaning, using the pressure gauge.

Old pool chemicals and old equipment

Chemicals. Chandler's Recycling-Solid Waste Collection Center at 955 E. Queen Creek Road takes household hazardous waste by appointment only. Call Solid Waste Services at 480-782-3510 to schedule (City of Chandler collection center). Ask about old pool chemicals when you call. Keep each one in its original container, and never mix them to "use them up".

Bulky items. Chandler ratepayers get four free bulk collections or trash visits a year combined; after that the City charges a fee for each bulk collection. Book by calling 480-782-3510 or with the City's online form, with 7 to 14 days' notice. Items can't be more than 4 by 4 by 16 feet or more than 50 pounds each, and liquids and hazardous materials aren't accepted (City of Chandler bulk collection).

Electricity

Chandler is served by two electric utilities, APS and SRP, and which one you have depends on your address. The City lists APS at 602-371-7171 and SRP at 602-236-8888 (City of Chandler energy conservation). Your bill tells you which is yours. Rebates change, so check your own utility's site before counting on one for a pump.

Permits: what the City says needs one

The City's April 2026 homeowner permit manual lists work that is exempt from a permit. Item 10 includes "like for like replacement of … pool or spa heating equipment", along with water heaters, furnaces and circuit breakers (Chandler Home Owner's Building Permit Manual, p. 7). That's specific to heating equipment replaced like for like. It doesn't name pumps or filters, and a heater that changes fuel, size or location probably isn't like for like. If your project is anything other than a straight swap, ask Development Services before the work starts.

The same manual's pool section says all new pools and spas need a permit, and that pool equipment must be 5 feet from the water's edge (p. 44). That's worth knowing if a pad is ever moved or rebuilt.

Finding local businesses

The Chandler Chamber of Commerce directory is public and sorted by category, including swimming pools and spas. It's a reasonable place to start when you need a trade that isn't ours.

When the equipment is the problem

If your pump, filter, salt system or automation isn't doing what it should, we come to the pad, find out which part has actually failed, and tell you before anything is replaced. If you don't know what's wrong, a diagnostic is $120, and it's credited toward your repair if you go ahead. Start from pool equipment repair in Chandler, or answer a few questions in the Pool Problem Finder.

Sources

Every local fact above links to the page it came from, all checked on October 26, 2026. Rules and programs change, so check the linked page before you act on one.

• City of Chandler: 2025 water quality report, pool drainage, Recycling-Solid Waste Collection Center, curbside bulk collection, energy conservation, Home Owner's Building Permit Manual.
• Chandler Chamber of Commerce, member directory.

Mobile Pool Repair is not affiliated with the City of Chandler, APS, SRP or the Chandler Chamber of Commerce. They are named here only to point you to their published information.