Principles of pool operation

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32439, 28 October 1970, Page 11

Principles of pool operation

Since the contamination of swimming pool water to some extent is inevitable, some methods must be provided to treat the water and make it safe for swimmers. Such treatment is accomplished by the operation of three inter-related and interacting systems: 1— A system for the recirculation and distribution of pool water. 2 A system for feeding chemicals for disinfection and control of pH. 3 A system for the removal of particles by filtration. In this article these systems are discussed together to explain and emphasise the manner in which they work together to accomplish the ultimate goal of safe, transparent pool water. Recirculation Recirculation is a transportation system that takes water from the pool, delivers it to a station where it can be filtered and chemically treated, and then returns it to the pool. The round trip the water takes is described by the term “turnover,” which specifically refers to the capacity of the pump and piping system to recirculate a volume of water equal to that contained in the pool within a given time. The removal of soil particles by filtration is closely related to the function of disinfection by chemical treatment. Each function, however, has a separate and distinct contribution to make to the

health Environment of the! pool. These distinctions mustl be understood if one is to* comprehend the treatment f of swimming pool water. J Ail too .often, the filter] plant is thought of as a] purification or disinfection] device. Actually, the filter sys-] tern should not be consid-l ered of value for its capa-1 city to remove bacteria or| disease producing or-1 ganisms. Rather its function is to« remove soil particles which,. if not removed would increase the need for chemi- | cal treatment and reduce ( the killing and oxidising , power of disinfection | chemicals. This is not to say that , filters, do not in fact re- i move some of the microorganisms commonly deposited in pool water. But it must be understood that such bacteria removal does not play any important role in the safeguarding of bathers. While filtration is a relatively simple process of physically removing soil particles, disinfection is a more complicated process. Ideally, disinfection is accomplished by introducing a germ killing chemical to pool water in sufficient strength to provide nearly instantaneous destruction of bacteria. Chlorine is the disinfecting agent most commonly used in pools. Its use does not infer that other acceptable agents for disinfection could not be substituted in the particular frame of reference. • -L L .