Pool maintenance, healthy swimming can protect against water illnesses
July 7, 2006
By Mary Jimenez
maryjimenez@gannett.com
As a second-generation lifeguard at Fair Grounds Pool, Jewell Gill never worries about the safety of the water in the city facility.
"Coach (Glenn) Payne checks the chemicals every day. And if they aren't just right, he adds what he needs to," said the 19-year-old who learned at age 3 to swim in the pool where her mom worked as a lifeguard. "I've never worried."
A patron raised the issues of maintenance and cleanliness at Fair Grounds Pool.
But while most people would not want to swim in a pool that appears dirty, that doesn't necessarily mean it's unsanitary, says the supervisor for Shreveport Public Assembly and Recreation pools.
And while crystal-clear water is an indication of a well-maintained pool, it doesn't necessarily mean the water is without germs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's healthy swimming campaign.
"The water was clear, but there was grass floating on the top of the water, and one time I saw a teen pull an earring off the bottom of her foot," said Miriam Claiborne, who worked as the athletic director for the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club located next door to the pool before moving to Arkansas last week. "I wish I could have seen them actually clean it out every day. I just think they could have done a better job."
Ervin Brooks, who manages Shreveport's 10 public pools, said he's had four pumps in the shop, preventing him from getting the big vacuum around to the 10 public pools on schedule, but assures summer patrons that grass and dirt are mostly a cosmetic problem that's easily remedied.
Brooks had a vacuum out at the Fairgrounds pool Thursday before the afternoon crowd arrived.
"People look at that and see the grass, but that's all it is. Once you vacuum, it's gone," Brooks said.
What's important for the public to know, Brooks added, is that the chemicals in the pools are diligently watched and maintained.
All the pool managers for SPAR have undergone training as aquatic and pool managers he said.
Most pool operators use a test kit once or twice daily to get a reading on basic measurements of free chlorine and alkaline from a sample of the water. These are the two most important readings that pool operators make. An ideal range for pH level is around 7.5 -- a much lower level will cause discomfort to the eyes and much higher reduces the sanitizing power of chlorine and other chemicals used.
Pool staff alone cannot completely stop the variety of germs that can be spread through water, according to a report on the CDC Web site.
In the past decade the CDC says there's been an increase in the number of outbreaks of recreational water illnesses associated with swimming.
These illnesses are spread by swallowing, breathing or having contact with contaminated water from swimming pools, spas, lakes, rivers or oceans. The most commonly reported water illness is diarrhea caused by pathogens such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Shigella and Escherichia coli O157:H7, the CDC reports.
Chlorine in properly disinfected pools can kill in less than an hour most germs that can cause those illnesses, according to the CDC, but it takes longer to kill some germs such as Cryptosporidium, which can survive for days in properly disinfected pools.
Swimmers can become infected if people in the pool are ill and urinate in the water. Others may be contaminated if they accidentally swallow water.
The CDC recommends the public practice six easy to remember guidelines to keep their family healthy around pools: Don't swim if you have diarrhea, don't swallow water, practice good hygiene and take your child on bathroom breaks and check diapers frequently.
Twan Knight, supervisor for the aquatic programs at SPAR, echoes the CDC recommendations.
"We do have chemicals and protocol when there is an accident in the water, but people should not be putting kids in the water with diapers on," Knight said. "And please don't drink the water."
