NORFOLK, Va., (WVEC) — It’s Dirty Water Week on Daybreak – we shift our focus from the water in your home – to public places.
If you have plans to hit the pool anytime soon.
We went to the Kroc Center in Norfolk to see what they do to ensure their pool water is safe and clean, and found out it’s a full-time job.
Summer: a great time to get out and enjoy all that the warmer months have to offer here across Hampton Roads.
As the temperatures get hotter, the community pools get more and more crowded. While you may think you’re just swimming with friends you could be swimming with a much larger crowd, which you can’t see with the naked eye, bacteria. Some of which could do some real harm.
Pool maintenance teams and lifeguards are tasked with making sure the water is safe for you to enjoy.
Kroc Center pool staff stays on top of chemical readings almost obsessively, testing every hour to ensure the pool and its water is working in tip-top shape to keep you safe.
Visibility and clarity ensure that lifeguards can clearly make out the bottom of the pool. Chemicals such as chlorine kill bacteria lurking in the water and pH levels maintain the proper neutral alkalinity.
Elizabeth Lowery is in charge of the facilities at the KROC center and says, “we test for all of those things and then try and make sure that we are where the health department wants us to be and where it is safe for people.”
Statistics show that for every 5 people in your pool, 1 of them is urinating. I’ll spare you the math if it’s a crowded pool of a hundred or so — you can see how maintaining the proper chemical balance is important.
“But basically its just attention to detail, watching the trends, like if you’ve had a number of people that go through your pool then the probability of your chlorine dropping down a little bit is pretty high,” Lowery says.
The No. 1 spoiler of a fun day at the pool is a No. 2.
Lowery says there is a procedure that is put in place once the floater is spotted.
The pool is cleared and thoroughly cleaned, testing is done to make sure the chemical levels are sufficiently high to ensure a safe and healthy balance has been restored before patrons are allowed back in the water.
Before heading to your favorite pool stay informed. When arriving ask to see the latest pool readings and ask when the last time they were completed.
For reference you should look for a pH of around 7.4 and a chlorine reading between 1 and 3.