Contact: Cindy Parmenter
Director of Communications
(303) 692-2013For Immediate Release Monday, June 13, 2005
Owners Urged to Take Precautions When Opening Swimming Pools
and Hot Tubs for the Season to Prevent Contaminating State Waters
DENVER — To prevent swimming pool or hot tub disinfectants, maintenance
chemicals and cleaning agents from entering state waters, state health officials
Thursday urged swimming pool and hot tub owners to follow specific guidelines
when opening or maintaining their swimming pools and hot tubs.
Scott Klarich, an environmental protection specialist with the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment’s Water Quality Control Division,
said, “Swimming pool and hot tub chemicals, such as chlorine, bromine or
copper-containing compounds, are harmful to fish and aquatic life and must be
prevented from entering streams, rivers, ponds or lakes. Harm can occur even at
levels well below the detection limit of the chlorine test kits that homeowners
typically use. Chlorine as low as 0.011 parts per million could have adverse
effects on fish and aquatic life if released into streams, rivers, ponds or
lakes.”
According to Klarich, the detection limit on the chlorine test kits is not
designed to determine the disinfectant level that would be harmful to aquatic
life, but rather to determine the proper residual disinfectant level of
one-to-three parts per million that is necessary to ensure sanitary conditions
in the pool.
Klarich said that Coloradans also should be aware that discharging chemical
contaminants from swimming pools or hot tubs into state waters, including storm
sewers, without a permit is strictly prohibited and may result in a fine.
To prevent these contaminants from entering the waterways, Klarich provided
the following practices for owners to adhere to when opening or maintaining
their swimming pools or hot tubs for the summer season:
- Remove any solid chlorine or bromine tablets or pucks from the filtration
system, and disconnect automatic disinfecting devices well in advance of
draining a swimming pool or hot tub.
- Allow swimming pool or hot tub water to stand uncovered until the chlorine
or bromine residual is zero.
- Ensure the water is not drained to areas where there are storm drains;
yard drains; building perimeter drains; ditches or creeks.
- Allow the water, including regular filter backwash water, to drain slowly
to the ground so it soaks away without entering any storm sewers or flooding
neighboring property or streets.
- Ensure that the filter backwash is drained to the soil or a rock pit.
- Complete the filter backwashing before increasing the chlorine or
disinfectant levels.
- Avoid discharging pool maintenance wastewater, such as cleansing of
concrete or tile, to the storm drain system.
- Prior to draining swimming pools or hot tubs to the sanitary sewer, please
consult with your local public works department on the appropriateness of such
activity.
- Particular attention is required when handling super-chlorinated waters.
Super-chlorinating or shocking is a common term in the arena of pool operation
and entails elevating the chlorine levels approximately 10 times over normal
in response to some contamination threat, such as a kids pool party, loss of
disinfection residual or algal bloom. Nothing different is required when
handling super chlorinated waters – just extra care as the chlorine levels are
higher and thus the potential to impact receiving water is greater if
discharged.
- Store all swimming pool and hot tub treatment, maintenance and cleaning
chemicals in a secure area where spills are contained and cannot enter the
drainage or the sanitary sewer systems.
- Old cleaning, maintenance and treatment chemicals may require special
disposal. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for disposal of these products
or contact the local household hazardous water collection program for more
information.
For more information:
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