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Is Your Pool Water Safe?

This summer, swimming pools are filled with millions of people having fun and staying cool. But did you know that germs can contaminate swimming water even if it is treated with chlorine?

This summer, learning about recreational water illnesses (RWIs), which are spread by swimming in contaminated water, such as swimming pools, water parks, lakes and the ocean, can protect you from illness.

RWIs are caused by germs like "Crypto" (KRIP-toe, short for Cryptosporidium), Giardia (gee-ARE-dee-uh), E. coli 0157:H7, and Shigella (Shi-GE-luh) and are spread by accidentally swallowing water that has been contaminated with fecal matter. Remember, you share the water with everyone in the pool.

Germs causing RWIs are killed by chlorine, but chlorine doesn’t work right away. It takes time to kill germs. Plus, some germs like Crypto are resistant to chlorine and can live in pools for days. That is why even the best maintained pools can spread illness. Healthy swimming behaviors are needed to protect you and your family from RWIs and will help stop germs from getting in the pool in the first place.

Here are six "P-L-E-As" that promote healthy swimming, provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Healthy Swimming Project:

1. PLEASE don’t swim when you have diarrhea. This is especially important for kids in diapers. You can spread germs into the water and make other people sick.

2. PLEASE don’t swallow pool water. In fact, try your best to avoid even having water get in your mouth.

3. PLEASE wash your hands with soap and water after using the toilet or changing diapers. You can protect others by remembering that germs on your body end up in the water.

4. PLEASE take your kids on bathroom breaks often. Waiting to hear "I have to go" may mean that it’s too late.

5. PLEASE change diapers in a bathroom and not at poolside. Germs can spread to surfaces and objects in and around the pool.

6. PLEASE wash your child thoroughly (especially his or her rear end) with soap and water before swimming. We all have invisible amounts of fecal matter on our bottoms that end up in the pool.

How can pool what be kept safe?

Protecting swimmers and their families from RWIs is the reason that pool staff (and pool owners) regularly check both chlorine and pH levels. Chlorine and pH, your disinfection team, are the first defense against germs that can make swimmers sick.

What does chlorine do?

Chlorine kills germs in pools--but it takes time to work. Therefore, it’s important to make sure chlorine levels are always at the levels recommended by the health department (usually between 1.0 - 3.0 ppm).

Why does chlorine need to be tested regularly?

All sorts of things can reduce chlorine levels in pool water. Some examples are sunlight, dirt, debris, and material from swimmer’s bodies. That’s why chlorine levels must be routinely measured. However, the time it takes for chlorine to work is also affected by the other member of the disinfection team, pH.

Why is pH important?

Two reasons. First, the germ-killing power of chlorine varies with pH level. As pH goes up, the ability of chlorine to kill germs goes down. Second, a swimmer’s body has a pH between 7.2 and 7.8, so if the pool water isn’t kept in this range then swimmers will start to feel irritation of their eyes and skin. Keeping the pH in this range will balance chlorine’s germ-killing power while minimizing skin and eye irritation.

The CDC recommends the following chemical levels:

Water Quality	pH
Chlorine Disinfection Poor Eye Irritation Skin Irritation	> 8.0
Most Ideal for Eye Comfort and Disinfection	7.8
	7.6
	7.2
Eye Irritation Skin Irritation Corrodes Pipes	< 7.0

What else can be done to promote Healthy Swimming?

The best way to kill germs is by routinely measuring and adjusting chlorine and pH levels. Since a few germs can survive for long periods in even the best maintained pools, it is also important that swimmers become aware of healthy swimming behaviors (don’t swim when ill with diarrhea, don’t swallow pool water, take frequent bathroom breaks, and practice good hygiene). Combining healthy swimming behaviors with good chlorine and pH control will reduce the spread of RWIs.

The information for this article was provided by the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention website. Visit www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming for more information about this subject.

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