How Long Should a Pool be Closed After Poop?

Naturally, nobody wants to think about it while they’re swimming, but occasionally, poop accidents happen in pools–especially when small children in diapers are in the water. So what should you do when this happens and how long should a pool be closed after poop is found or reported? We’ve got you covered. 

Chlorine is highly effective as a disinfectant, but it’s hard to be perfect. Once contaminants are introduced to pool water–and there are many, including dirt, bacteria, sunscreen, and bug spray–they start interacting with pool chemistry, impacting chlorine’s ability to do its job. Pools should also be kept within an ideal pH range of between 7.2 and 8 to maintain maximum efficacy. So for this reason, for hygiene, and safety, it should go without saying that when there is poop in a pool, the first step is to get everyone out of the water, then the next is to remove as much of the solid waste as you can. 

How long should a pool be closed after poop is found?

The CDC provides guidance for how to handle these incidents:

1. As we said, while your first instinct may be to remove the poop, first get everyone out of the water so their exposure is limited.
   
   
2. Use a net, a scoop, or a bucket to remove as much of the waste material as possible. 
3. Once you’ve removed everything you can, you need to test the water chemistry. 
   1. First, test your Free Chlorine Levels. If they are lower than 2.0 mg/L(ppm), you need to raise them to at least that level. 
   2. Test the water’s pH and ensure it is at 7.5 or lower. 
   3. You also need to maintain the water temperature at 77℉ (25℃) or higher. 
   4. While the pool reaches the appropriate Free Chlorine Levels, operate the pool’s filtration/recirculation system. 
4. Following these steps, for solid stool, you need to close your pool facilities or aquatic center for a minimum of 25 minutes while the pool water’s Free Chlorine Levels are at 2.0ppm. 
5. During this time, test the chlorine residual at multiple sampling points throughout the pool to ensure that these free chlorine levels are achieved throughout the entire pool for the entire disinfection time. 
6. You should also use only non-stabilized chlorine products to raise the free chlorine levels during this remediation. If you are using CYA or a stabilized chlorine product(Dichlor or Trichlor), your pool needs to be closed for double the time required, ie, a minimum of 50 minutes. 

In the case of diarrhea, the minimum closing time is 12 hours and 45 minutes at Free Chlorine Levels of 20 ppm. Diarrhea outbreaks are more serious: not only is the material more difficult to remove, but diarrhea outbreaks are also  the most common swimming-related disease outbreak. Diarrhea requires extra steps and care when disinfecting.. 

• While properly maintained pool water disables or kills most germs within minutes, Cryptosporidium bacteria (a diarrhea-causing germ) can survive for up to 7 days. You will also need to run a secondary disinfection system to “theoretically reduce the number of Cryptosporidium OOCYSTS” in the pool water to below one OOCYST/100 mL.
• Again, you should be using non-stabilized chlorine products. But if you are using CYA or stabilized chlorine products, you’re required to treat the water through hyperchlorination. You have three options for this treatment:

1. 1. After you have closed the pool facility and removed the material, lower the CYA concentration to less than or equal to 15 ppm, draining the pool if necessary to do so. 
      
      
   2. Then, you will need to raise the Free Chlorine Residual Levels to:
      1. 20 mg/L for at least 28 hours
      2. 0 mg/L for at least 18 hours
      3. Or 40 mg/L for at least 8.5 hours
         
         
   3. Or, you can circulate the pool water through a secondary disinfection system,
   4. Or finally, your last option is to drain the pool water completely. 

How to prevent poop in a pool 

As you can see, the more severe the poop incident, the longer the downtime and closure time required. So, how can you best prevent these situations in the first place? While you can’t prevent every illness, there are a few simple steps your facility can take to help reduce these incidents.

• Swim diapers are fairly effective at keeping urine and fecal matter enclosed, but they do leak–especially as they reach their holding capacity. Encourage your pool guests to change diapers regularly, every hour, and to take small potty-trained children to the bathroom at the same frequency. Your lifeguards can make announcements each hour to remind guests and you can also use frequent adult swims to encourage this behavior.
  
  
• Make sure pool guests know it’s policy to report a poop to a lifeguard or pool operator as soon as it’s noticed. This includes when their child poops in a swim diaper while in the water, even if it appears contained by the water.
  
  
• Post signage and remind guests of the health hazards of entering pool water while they are knowingly sick.   

Pool poop incidents are a serious matter, as even a small amount of bacteria can make people sick. You want to carefully follow every step of the remediation and disinfection process, and ensure every pool water test during and after the process is properly carried out, documented, and saved–not to mention, Health Department compliant. 

For this reason, the Pool Shark H2O app has all the information you need on what to do within the app. Within the Chemical Recording Form, click the button corresponding to the type of incident to find it. From there, the app can also automatically calculate the free chlorine adjustments needed for you, and digitally records–and locks–every test result and adjustment for you, so everything is maintained accurately for you throughout the entire process and after. Pool operators, managers, and owners can also easily access the records to ensure the appropriate steps are followed. We wouldn’t want to treat a poop incident without it.