Summary: For property managers and risk managers, improperly maintained pool water carries significant commercial pool liability risks with serious financial costs.

If your commercial property includes a pool, chances are you already know it requires regular maintenance. But what many property managers—and even some risk assessors—don’t fully realize is how quickly a small slip in pool water chemistry can snowball into a costly health, legal, or reputational disaster.

Improperly maintained pool water doesn’t just affect swimmer comfort. It can lead to illness outbreaks, equipment failure, legal action, and long-term reputational damage. And while the upfront cost of pool maintenance may seem high, it pales in comparison to the cost of a serious incident.

From lawsuits to health department closures and reputational damage, let’s explore the key commercial pool liability risks and financial costs your organization may face if pool water chemistry isn’t properly monitored and managed.

Commercial Pool Risk 1 - Health & Safety Incidents

We'll begin with the most immediate and visible risk: public health and safety. Poor water chemistry compromises sanitation and increases the likelihood of harmful pathogens or dangerous chemical reactions.

When disinfection is inadequate or chemical dosing is mismanaged, the results can be swift—and in the worst cases, severe.

Commercial Pool Risk 2 - Illness Outbreaks: 

An improperly sanitized pool is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria and parasites like Cryptosporidium, E. coli, and Legionella. These pathogens can cause gastrointestinal illnesses, respiratory infections, and even life-threatening conditions. If an outbreak occurs, it can result in medical claims, CDC involvement, facility shutdowns, and lawsuits.

Estimated Cost: $50,000 – $500,000+ (Source: CDC)

Commercial Pool Risk 3 - Chemical Burns & Over-Chlorination: 

Too much chlorine or incorrect chemical mixing can result in chemical burns, skin and eye irritation, or respiratory issues. These incidents often require emergency care and can quickly escalate to liability claims.

Estimated Cost: $10,000 – $100,000+ (Source: CDC)

Commercial Pool Risk 4 - Toxic Gas Release (Chlorine/Chloramine Exposure): 

Mixing pool chemicals improperly or letting chlorine levels spike leads to chloramine creation, a potentially toxic gas at certain levels–particularly in indoor pool environments with poor ventilation. This can lead to mass evacuations or hospitalizations; while rare, these are costly events when they do occur. They also damage the pool or property’s reputation and can lead to a significant loss of business.

Estimated Cost: $100,000 – $1,000,000+ (Source: CDC)
Source: CDC – Pool Chemical–Associated Health Events

Commercial Pool Risk 5 - Regulatory & Legal Exposure

Beyond the direct health effects, there are serious regulatory consequences that come from failing to maintain water quality. When a commercial pool violates health or safety codes, the penalties can hit hard and fast.

Even a single failed inspection can cause days of closure, fines, and scrutiny from the public and regulators alike.

Commercial Pool Risk 6 - Health Department Fines & Closures: 

Health departments often have strict protocols for water quality. Violations can lead to immediate shutdowns, steep fines, and repeat inspections. Every day a pool is closed can mean lost revenue, dissatisfied tenants or guests, and additional staff time.

Estimated Cost: $5,000 – $50,000+ in fines; $1,000 – $10,000/day in lost revenue (Fines vary by state and local health department penalty schedules)

Commercial Pool Risk 7 - ADA or Other Compliance Violations: 

In some cases, poorly maintained facilities can trigger compliance violations, especially if features become unusable or hazardous. ADA non-compliance penalties can stack quickly, especially for repeated or unaddressed issues.

Estimated Cost: $25,000 – $100,000+ (Source: US DOJ)

Commercial Pool Risk 8 - Facility & Equipment Damage

In addition to keeping swimmers safe, properly balanced water chemistry also protects your infrastructure. Even with no visible signs of distress, incorrect water chemistry can be quietly destroying your equipment, structures, and systems.

This type of damage is often not discovered until it's extensive—and expensive—to fix.

Commercial Pool Risk 9 - Corrosion from Low pH / High Chlorine: 

Acidic water or high chlorine levels can corrode metal fixtures, pumps, HVAC systems, and even building materials. Over time, this leads to costly repairs that typically aren’t covered by insurance.

Estimated Cost: $10,000 – $250,000+ (Source: Pool & Hot Tub Alliance)

Commercial Pool Risk 10 - Scaling from High Calcium Hardness: 

On the flip side, hard water can leave calcium deposits that clog pipes, cloud pool surfaces, and damage filtration systems. Removing scale buildup often requires specialized service and downtime.

Estimated Cost: $5,000 – $50,000+ (NSPF Pool & Spa Operator Handbook)

Commercial Pool Risk 11 - Insurance & Legal Settlements

Of course, when something goes seriously wrong, insurance and legal settlements come into play. But coverage may not be enough, especially when major incidents exceed policy limits or trigger exclusions.

And while claims may be covered, increased premiums and reputational harm often follow.

Commercial Pool Risk 12 - Personal Injury or Wrongful Death: 

When an individual suffers a severe injury or fatality linked to water quality, settlements and jury awards can reach staggering levels while also keeping people away from your property..

Estimated Cost: $500,000 – $5,000,000+ (Source: Insurance Journal)

Commercial Pool Risk 13 - Class Action Lawsuits: 

If multiple guests are affected by an outbreak or chemical incident, it can lead to class action litigation. This is particularly risky for properties like hotels, gyms, or apartment complexes where many individuals use the pool.

Estimated Cost: $1,000,000 – $10,000,000+ (Source: CDC)

Commercial Pool Risk 14 - Indirect & Reputational Costs

Finally, it’s important to consider the long-term and downstream financial impact of a public health or legal incident. Even after fines are paid and repairs are made, your reputation may not recover easily.

A pool incident doesn’t just affect the pool: it can affect your entire property brand.

Commercial Pool Risk 15 - Lost Business & Memberships: 

Whether it’s bad online reviews, word-of-mouth, or negative media coverage, a damaged reputation leads to declining memberships and tenant dissatisfaction. Depending on the nature of the incident, you may also lose staff and have a hard time recruiting new employees. This erosion in trust can have long-lasting financial consequences. 

Estimated Cost: $50,000 – $500,000 annually (Source: Aquatics International)
Source: Aquatics International Case Studies

Commercial Pool Risk 16 - Public Relations Crisis Management: 

Dealing with media fallout, issuing public apologies, and managing stakeholder communication typically requires a dedicated crisis PR team—yet another unbudgeted cost.

Estimated Cost: $25,000 – $100,000+ (Source: Institute for Public Relations)
Source: Institute for Public Relations, PRSA benchmarks

Commercial Pool Risk - What’s the Bottom Line?

Even a single water chemistry incident can snowball into massive losses. From minor incidents like mild chemical burns to fatalities that lead to wrongful death suits and create trauma and serious reputational damage, many of these incidents are preventable with sound water quality care and maintenance. This means that improperly balanced pool water chemistry is a risk management failure with potentially devastating consequences.

Daily water testing, employing certified pool operators, documented maintenance and pool chemistry logs, and adherence to local health codes are best practices to keep pool guests healthy, the property in good shape and standing, and financial safeguards that can save properties anywhere from $10,000 to $10M+. .

Commercial Pool Risk Management Action Steps

So what can you do? Thankfully, these incidents are largely preventable with a few key practices. To help mitigate these risks, property managers and risk professionals should ensure that:

• Pools are tested at least 2–3 times daily, especially during peak usage.
  
  
• Chemical dosing systems are maintained and calibrated regularly.
  
  
• Staff are trained and certified: pools should employ at least one Certified Pool Operator on staff to ensure you have a leader who can own, train, and manage the entire team on pool water chemistry.
  
  
• Staff has checks in place to ensure chemical tests and adjustments are accurate: tools like the Pool Shark H2O app automatically perform the complex chemical math for teams, eliminating guesswork and ensuring accuracy. When paired with the NSF Level 1 certified LaMotte WaterLink Spin Touch, you get the most precise and accurate test results in 60 seconds that are then automatically recorded in the PoolShark H2O App to nearly eliminate the chance of human error.
  
  
• Emergency protocols are in place for chemical spills, illness reports,contamination incidents, and closures.
  
  
• Have a plan for emergency closures, guest communication, and rapid response.
  
  
• Maintenance and pool chemistry logs are detailed, archived, and auditable for accuracy, reference, Health Department compliance, and in case of legal or insurance claims.

Commercial Pool Risk Final Thoughts

In the world of commercial property management, pools are often seen as amenities: valuable, but routine. However, the risks of improper pool water chemistry go far beyond cloudy water or irritated eyes. From lawsuits to structural damage, the costs can be staggering.

Proactive water quality management impacts every aspect of pool ownership, protecting people, property, and profit.

Pool Shark H2O instantly performs the complex math of dosage calculations, so you can easily make any chemistry corrections to ensure your body of water is safe for your swimmers.

Test results and adjustments are logged and locked automatically, and remotely accessible from anywhere–making it simple for multiple staff members to use, as well as for pool operators, managers, and owners to check in on pool water quality, even across multiple bodies of water. 

This helps reduce the number of on-site visits to pools, ensures 100% Health Department compliance, and helps prevent unnecessary risks and liabilities. Log sheets are stored digitally for as long as you’re required to, saving physical space, time, and money, and making it simple to pull up accurate log sheets when needed.

Pools can be a lot of fun for everyone–that’s our ultimate goal. But we can only achieve this goal through healthy, balanced water. Running water quality tests, logging the results and adjustments accurately, and maintaining accurate records is the best way to manage pool water through every shift in chemistry. 

Pool Shark H2O is precise, effective, cost-effective, and significantly lowers both health and business risk for pool owners and operators, from HOA and apartment pools to multi-location aquatic centers.