SUN CITY – PH-check! Total Alkalinity-check! Chlorine Level-check! Filter pressure-check! Temperature-well, almost check! Looks like Sun City’s computer- and manually-assisted swimming pools are doing just fine on these hot days of summer. When “water relief” is an oft discussed subject, a sultry, warm Sunday might bring as many as 160 people to cool off in Meadowview’s pool alone. That, of course, does not include Prairie Lodge’s indoor and outdoor pools or Sun City’s two spas.
Having recently discussed pool operation rules with those in control of pools and spas at our community, I walked away confident that “the powers that be” were doing an excellent job controlling our pools’ water safety or, in other words, our pool’s cleanliness.
While swimming can certainly be a healthy way of burning calories while staying cool indoors or outdoors, nevertheless, there are major problems that lurk beneath our pools’ waters.
Though we rightfully tend to worry about taking precautions against sunburn and drowning accidents, the Water Quality and Health Council warns that it’s also important to keep an eye out for pool cleanliness and learn the way that we, the pool users, are affecting our pools.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diarrhea is the most common recreational water illness. Diarrhea is caused by germs that can be picked up in the pool, such as Crypto (Cryptosporidium), Giardia, Shigella, norovirus, and E. coli. Crypto, a parasite that causes abdominal cramping (and is the cause of well over half of the gastroenteritis outbreaks), is actually chlorine resistant. It can survive for days even in properly disinfected water. However, proper chlorine levels with appropriate PH levels will kill most bacteria (such as E coli) in pool water within a short time.
According to Mary Schultz, eHow contributor, the job of swimming pool chlorine then is to kill pathogens in the water. In its free state (uncombined with other chemicals), chlorine helps prevent the spread of illnesses that can be waterborne. However, a chemical reaction can occur when chlorine meets up with the natural waste of swimmers/walkers/bathers. This can include ammonia and nitrogen. Chloramines then form. Many people mistake the strong smell, the eye irritation, and the respiratory irritation of chloramines for pool chlorine. These chloramines are eventually dissipated by a pool shock treatment.
Know then that urine mixing with chlorine can cause irritants that produce skin rash and red eyes. Know that fecal matter from “unclean bottoms” is a huge germ problem. Know also that certain microorganisms can cause serious symptoms such as jaundice, fever, vomiting, and respiratory and eye/ear infections. For seniors and their grandchildren who have compromised immune systems, pathogens in our pool waters should become a major health concern for all of us.
So if “swimmers” cause many pollutants (creams, oils, makeup, perspiration, hair, sprays, dirt) that can lead to chloramines and pool water-caused illnesses, what can we do to prevent these pollutants from entering through our skin, through our swimwear, through our nose, throat, anus, and other body openings? How can we form a partnership with Sun City’s maintenance and management teams to do our share in keeping our Prairie Lodge and Meadowview Pools at optimum effectiveness to ensure wellness for all of its users?
Here are basic rules to follow (make sure that you inform of these suggestions to your grandchildren and other pool guests as well):
(1). Protect others by not entering the pool if you are experiencing diarrhea. If diagnosed with crypto, do not swim for at least two weeks after the diarrhea stops. Children in diapers or under the age of 4 are not permitted in any pool at any time. (A Sun City Family Swim/Guest Rule).
(2). Do not enter the pool with any other form of sickness.
(3). Do not swim with open or unhealed cuts or skin sores.
(4). Do not spit directly into pool water or swallow pool water.
(5). Take frequent bathroom breaks if you are planning to be in the pool for a prolonged time.
(6). Avoid using street shoes or eating while on the pool deck.
(7). Cooperate in maintaining designated Sun City pool temperatures: Indoor PL pool:84 degrees; outdoor MVL pool: 82-84 degrees. (The lower the pool temperature, the lesser the production of pool water bacteria; the lower the pool temperature, the lesser the amount of pool evaporation and exposure to breathing the chlorine gas that is emitted to the pool’s top water layer during the evaporation process.)
(8). THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO BEFORE ENTERING OUR POOLS: Take a soapy (if possible, nude) SHOWER !!! Huntley’s Centegra Health Bridge’s Aquatic Center makes showering mandatory for all swimmers. Clean bodies help pools remain cleaner longer!
Researchers from the Barcelona-based Centre of Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) and Research Hospital del Mar have done preliminary studies of changes in the permanent mutation of the DNA in a group of swimmers in an indoor, chlorinated pool.
CREAL study co-director Manolis Kogevinas suggests the problems caused by a reduction of disinfectant could be offset if swimmers showered before taking a dip, wore bathing caps, and refrained from urinating.
Let’s vow to ourselves and to our community of like-minded “water lovers” that we will begin a partnership with our team of pool directors and their staff beginning today. Water safety or cleanliness will then definitely be accomplished in Sun City, Huntley.
