Concerned Mom Thanks APSP for New National Water Quality Standard

After publication of the first issue of Recreational Water Quality in June, APSP received an email from a concerned mother about problems with her community pool. In her email, she wrote:

“I recently discovered that our pool water is only tested TWICE A WEEK, and our pool bathrooms are only cleaned once a week. I have been to the pool when it was open with green water, and you couldn't see the bottom in the shallow end, and other times it was open with white bubbles surrounded by a film floating on top and so on. I am so excited to see there is going to be a national standard. I am trying to work with my community board to change our policy and have the water tested, at the very least, daily. Do you have any suggestions that might help me achieve this? I am not a public health official, just a very concerned mom.”

In response, APSP sent the requirements for sanitizer residuals and testing frequencies from the new draft of the model pool code for water quality, APSP-11, Water Quality Standard in Public Pools and Spas. The draft APSP-11 standard requires that “testing frequency shall be sufficient to ensure that the sanitizer, pH, clarity, and water temperature (spa) standards set forth in this document are met at all times…” APSP also provided recommendations from the informational appendix for testing frequency for pools, including:

Sanitizer	Every two hours during periods of pool use
pH	Twice a day
Clarity	Daily
Temperature	Daily
Alkalinity	Once a week
Hardness	Every two weeks

The mother replied that she had shared this information with the board members for her community and that they acted on it right away: “When they received the draft of the national standards, I think they realized how serious this issue is. They are having the managers trained so that our water can be tested at least daily. I know this change would not have happened without your help, and I sincerely thank you for that.” And, most importantly, she said that she plans to share her new knowledge with other people in her community and send letters to their state officials urging them to adopt the APSP standard and make it a state law.

This mother’s success at her community pool is a great example of how APSP’s new draft of the national water quality standard will make a positive contribution to the safe enjoyment of pools and spas by families living in communities across the country.