Why did the pool have to close?
NOTE: Please read these FAQs to understand some of the terminology included in this article.The health of our swim club community and guests is our number one concern. We try to maintain and make adjustments to the pool chemicals after closing time each day. On occasion, we may not be able to maintain a healthy pool without closing for a short period in order to introduce chemicals in excess of those usually applied. This was the case during the week after Memorial Day. Over the 3 weeks prior to Memorial Day Weekend, attempts to hit the breakpoint of the combined chlorine (CC) didn't work and compounded the problem.
Test readings both from our test kit and the pool supply store's test of our water sometimes indicated high CC and sometimes no CC. The pool was looking fine and most people were happy prior to the Memorial Day Weekend. However, on that Saturday, heavy use resulted in a lot more contaminants being introduced to the pool. At the recommendation of the pool supply store, we shocked with non-chlorine shock in high concentration, which again was not high enough to breakpoint the CC.
We began receiving a few reports of irritated skin and eyes. We called a professional to assess the pool on Tuesday but they falied to show for our appointment. Talking to parents on Tuesday, we realized the problem was more widespread than we originally realized. On Wednesday, we consulted a professional, who recommended closing the pool and performing a large shock treatment and continuing to increase that treatment if it didn't do the job. CC dropped to an acceptable range by the next morning, but the free chlorine was 0ppm and chlorination with both the saline system and the tablet chlorinators seemed to not have any affect until the evening on Thursday. The pool was rebalanced and opened on Friday and Saturday, but the CC levels started to rise again slightly.
We consulted a second pool professional on Friday night and they recommended hitting the pool again with a stronger dose still to kill off anything that remained. We waited until Saturday night to perform the task to give us time to rebalance the Sunday morning when we would have a little more time to work with it. Arriving the next morning, it was obvious that we would not be opening that day. The water was like Clorox, a milky white and you couldn't see more than a few inches down. We are currently waiting on the chlorine and cloudiness to burn off or filter out.
Was this a result of the new saline system?
No, this problem developed before the new system was installed. The salt in the pool just added one more variable to the mix.My kids have a stomach bug or diarrhea. Is this a result of the pool?
This symptom is not something we would expect as a result of this situation, because the free chlorine levels remained at a level that should have killed off most bacteria quickly. However, there have been a few reports of diarrhea after visiting the pool.As a further note to all our members: if you have a child who may have had an accident in the pool, it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you notify the guards. We do not maintain a high enough chlorine level to kill off some of the bacteria associated with diarrhea. The required level of Free Chlorine to do so would be in excess of those recommended for normal swimming and will result in a 24 hour closure.