Photo Credit: Courtesy of National Swimming Pool Foundation
Providing a safe, healthy, disease-free swimming environment can be an overwhelming task for any operator. And without a full understanding of water-chemistry basics, the task will be difficult and next to impossible.
Recreational Water Illnesses (RWIs) are brought into the pool by bathers who do not shower or those who utilize poor hygiene. These RWIs can be contracted by swallowing the pool water, or by penetrating the skin, or just by breathing the vapors (mists) above the water’s surface. Encouraging healthy behaviors before entering the pool will help. For example, facilities should require and enforce showering before entering the pool; swimmers should also be discouraged from urinating in the pool, since the combination of urine and chlorine is dangerous; the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Six Pleas should be widely posted, urging people who are ill with diarrhea to not swim (see sidebar). These are three important steps for any aquatic facility to follow.
Swimming pools and spas can be a breeding ground for bacteria if the operator does not maintain a constant halogen (chlorine/bromine) residual. It is critical to diligently monitor the pool chemistry parameters. There are two strategies to provide superior water care: