Why is Testing Public Pool Water Important?

Public swimming pools are a place where many families and communities can come together to enjoy a fun and relaxing day. Behind the scenes, however, maintaining a public swimming pool is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Keeping track of pool testing data and maintaining the proper chemical balance is necessary for healthy pool water. When pool water is not tested, many problems can arise. Guests at a Colorado hotel experienced many of these problems in 2021 after swimming in a public pool that had not been tested or treated.

Contaminated pool water that contained harmful bacteria was left open to the hotel guests who promptly became seriously ill after swimming in it. Fortunately, those affected were able to recover and their story remains to highlight the importance of testing pool water. A quick test would have revealed the dire need for treatment and prevented any guests from becoming sick.

It’s clear that testing pool water is important, but how can a pool owner or operator learn more about the specifics?

Public Pool Testing Requirements

Testing pool water to ensure that all swimmers are safe is very important. This is why the CDC released the Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC) in 2014. By using extensive research to create a set of guidelines, the CDC aimed to help pool owners, health departments, and companies to have one well-researched set of guidelines.

Because the MAHC is a set of guidelines and not enforced nationally, pool testing requirements will vary based on location. To learn more about the specific requirements in your area, pool operators can contact their local health department.

How Often to Test Public Pools

Similar to pool testing requirements, there is no standard rule for how often to test pool water. There are many factors that can affect this, so contacting the local health department for their guidelines is the best idea. That being said, public pool water should be tested before opening and after closing at a minimum with results recorded in a pool log. Doing this will ensure that the water is safe before swimmers begin to use the pool during the day.

Ideally, pool water should be tested throughout the day as well in order to protect swimmers from any chemical mishaps or dangerous water conditions. This isn’t always easy as repeated testing takes up time from staff members such as lifeguards who have other duties at the pool. Luckily there is a great solution that can make pool water testing easier.

How Pool Shark H2O Can Help With Your Public Pool Testing

With so many different tests needing to be performed constantly, pool water testing can be confusing and time-consuming. In addition to this, pool operators are often too busy to test pool water, run calculations by hand, and then add the needed chemicals. This can lead to errors such as adding too much of a certain chemical or not having enough chemicals in the water. Both conditions can create an unsafe environment for swimmers.

The Pool Shark H2O app helps users log pool testing data electronically and perform needed calculations for chemicals. An added bonus is that the Pool Shark H2O app is CMAHC certified and can be set to specific requirements based on the guidelines set by local health departments. By using LaMotte Spin Touch and Prominent Controllers integrated with the Pool Shark H2O system, testing pool water to meet the necessary requirements is made simple for any operator.

User errors are common when it comes to calculating the needed chemicals for pool water. Adding regulations that change from one location to the next can make this problem even worse. Pool Shark reduces many of these issues and makes it easy for users to comply with local health regulations.