During the first 50 of warm-up I spotted poop this morning. I confirmed it on the 2nd 50 and got out to tell the coach. Eventually they closed the pool, cleaned it out and threw in some chlorine directly in to the pool. But then they reopened about 30 min later. I was a bit shocked that they opened it so soon. The pool is a 50 meter x 25 yard pool so pretty big and they only threw in one 5 gal bucket of chlorine before letting us all back in. Does that sound right? If I remember my life guarding days right, poop means several hours of shutting down.
I was disappointed to have the workout suspended but I certainly didn't want to risk us getting sick, either.
There are several ways to handle the poop in the pool issue (known in the trade as an Accidental Fecal Release or AFR). Without getting too techincal, the "well formed stool" poses very little risk if chlorine levels are where they are supposed to be. Even the bad form of e-coli is destroyed nearly instantly by this level of chlorine. Sometimes supplemental chlorine is added more as a pr gesture than anything strictly health related. On the other hand, diahrea (sp?) is another matter. In that case you have to prepare for the worst case scenario of cryptosporidium being introduced. That requires a much longer contact time with chlorine. Eight hours at 20 parts per million of chlorine is considered adequate. The lower level of chlorine, the longer the required contact time. Things get a bit trickier with outdoor pools that use a chlorine stabilizer to conteract UV's impact on chlorine. In general, that chlorine is less effective as a disinfectant and contact time needs to be adjusted accordingly. Automatic chemical controlers that measure the water's oxidative reduction potential (ORP) are a much more accurate way to predict chlorine's effectiveness.
Sorry for the technical explaination, but I hope this helps.
Rich
There are several ways to handle the poop in the pool issue (known in the trade as an Accidental Fecal Release or AFR). Without getting too techincal, the "well formed stool" poses very little risk if chlorine levels are where they are supposed to be. Even the bad form of e-coli is destroyed nearly instantly by this level of chlorine. Sometimes supplemental chlorine is added more as a pr gesture than anything strictly health related. On the other hand, diahrea (sp?) is another matter. In that case you have to prepare for the worst case scenario of cryptosporidium being introduced. That requires a much longer contact time with chlorine. Eight hours at 20 parts per million of chlorine is considered adequate. The lower level of chlorine, the longer the required contact time. Things get a bit trickier with outdoor pools that use a chlorine stabilizer to conteract UV's impact on chlorine. In general, that chlorine is less effective as a disinfectant and contact time needs to be adjusted accordingly. Automatic chemical controlers that measure the water's oxidative reduction potential (ORP) are a much more accurate way to predict chlorine's effectiveness.
Sorry for the technical explaination, but I hope this helps.
Rich
