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Many public pools opened this weekend in Colorado for the summer season. But before the start of pool season and Memorial Day weekend, inspectors with Arapahoe County Public Health were busy inspecting more than 100 pools and facilities.
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Marty Easter is a water program field supervisor for Arapahoe County Public Health. He said before the start of the summer season, inspectors with the health department stop by facilities for their first inspections of the year.
During the full inspection, they are checking the chemicals and water quality in all bodies of water. They will also visit the pump rooms and make sure everything is running properly. They're also look out for construction and check the physical condition of the facilities to ensure no one gets injured.
Then inspectors will return once more in the summer, to check the water quality and chemicals in the pool. Any issues that come up are addressed immediately.
"Some of our main things we're looking for are making sure the facility has enough disinfectant, making sure that any of those pathogens could be in the water, that they're eliminated," said Easter. "We're also looking for pH, and making sure that the water is safe for all the residents and or all the customers that are coming in here."
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Davison is the aquatics manager at Pirates Cove Water Park in Englewood. He said they begin getting their pool and facilities ready in March, and it takes about two whole months to get prepared for swimmers.
During those two months, staff at Pirates Cove take care of cleaning the pools, making repairs and getting the water quality and facility up to code.
"It takes a lot of work, essentially having to summer-ize everything that we had on backside of the summer and closed for the winter," said Davison. "Pulling pool covers off, draining pools, cleaning the exterior, the shells of the pools, as well as filling them and making repairs as that wakeup happens."
Davison said since that work was finished, they also worked to ensure they've updated sanitation, feeders, and pH control. He added it's a working, positive relationship with the county health department.
"I think we both want the same thing and that's the ultimately the safety of the people that are coming in using the facilities," said Davison.
An inspection usually takes about an hour, but for a large facility like Pirates Cove, it takes about three hours.
Arapahoe County Public Health regulates 130 facilities, including rec centers and hotels, with the goal of inspecting all of them twice a year.
"We're being diligent about coming out and trying to really be proactive with a lot of our inspections, making sure that the managers of the facilities know exactly what to do," said Easter.
For more information from Arapahoe County, on how to have a healthy and safe swimming summer, visit arapahoeco.gov.
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