With Healthy and Safe Swimming Week going on right now, what condition the water that you swim in is important! The average bather probably doesn’t think about proper pH, free chlorine levels, and the like. It is up to the professionals that run the aquatic facilities to protect patrons and worry about safe water chemistry.
Did you know California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, and New York contain nearly half the public pools in the United States? In a report recently released by the CDC from inspections, done in 2013, there was at least one violation in 80% of the 84,000+ inspections completed. The inspections were completed at 48,632 public facilities that housed pools, hot tubs, kiddie areas, and more. That is over 67,200 violations (multiple violations at some facilities) in just five states, more violation than facilities inspected!
During these inspections pool facilities were cited most often for improper pH (15%), lack of safety equipment (13%) and inadequate disinfectant levels (12%).
Correct pH levels are crucial as pH determines how effective the disinfectant is at removing pathogens. What all this information boils down to is poor pool operation, lack of automation and proper training. There are things that can be done to help make sure that you are not in violation.
There are many companies that offer CPO® Training Courses, water chemistry classes, and more. Training the staff that is operating the pools, hot tubs, etc. is important. A properly trained staff can save both patrons from unhealthy water, but can save owners money because properly used and maintained equipment will almost always last longer than misused equipment.
Automated controllers can also help with safer water. The constant monitoring of water chemistry provided by automated controllers help by observing the water balance. If the water is to go out of balance, automated controllers can alert a trained operator that actions need to be taken to correct the levels.