Inspecting Public Pools and Spas

>>Medina County has over 90 public swimming pools and spas which the health department licenses and inspects. The single most important thing is to have adequate disinfectant. These pools today use a chlorine based disinfectant. I always look at the water. If it has that nice bright sparkle to it – that’s a good indication that we have adequate disinfectant levels. What we don’t want to see is a dull, almost a little cloudy water - especially if it has any turbidity or cloudiness in it. I use a commercial testing system which is more sophisticated than what most pool operators are required to have. It gives us more precision in testing and a broader range of testing. This is a chlorine based disinfectant. So I am happy as a lark because I see my reagent turning pink or red. That tells me that we do have disinfectant in the water. A lot of families enjoy the outdoor public pools in the summer. We want them to be safe, sanitary, and free of germs, pathogens. The last thing we want is any water-borne illness.