Ultra Violet

Switching To Automatic Cuts Costs

Posted on June 10, 2015
automatic dosing

Freshwater Beach Holiday Park are one of a tidal wave of swimming pools that are reaping the rewards of switching to automatic control.

Switching To Automatic Cuts Costs

Scott Condliffe at Freshwater Beach Holiday Park in Dorset was content that his previous swimming pool manager was running the outdoor pool in the most cost effective manner, despite the fact that the heat exchangers on the boilers sometimes lasted less than a season!

Four years ago, when Freshwater installed a new indoor pool facility and were obliged to follow current standards and legislation, he realised that there was more to pool water chemistry than black drums of liquid chlorine and split bags of sodium bisulphate on the plant room floor.

Although reticent initially at the capital cost involved with upgrading the outdoor pools, Freshwater now operate all their pools with automatic chemical controllers to constantly monitor water balance and disinfection levels. They are fitted with PAC dosing and Ultra Violet and they have a photometer to accurately measure and record the required pool water test results.

Cresta Leisure
Tel. 01305 259253
www.cresta-leisure.co.uk

Tomorrow’s World

Posted on September 22, 2014
tomorrows world

The holiday park swimming pool is one of the main features that keeps the visitors coming back and a potential ticking time bomb for operators legally obligated to show ‘duty of care’.

Tomorrow's World

Automatic control will dramatically reduce the risk of human error in the management of holiday park swimming pools advises Christina Connor…

Swimming pools are the marmite of the holiday park industry.

A liquid paradox – the swimming pool will be one of the main features that keep the visitors coming back.

On the other hand, if poorly maintained, that same swimming pool presents a ticking time bomb of problems for visitors, staff but fundamentally for the holiday park operator who is legally obligated to show ‘duty of care’.

“Ten years ago, many holiday parks operated on a wish and a prayer when it came to water treatment,” comments Tim Bareham of leading commercial swimming pool specialist, Cresta Leisure.

“In the majority of cases, water chemicals were dosed manually and the water balance tested with the most basic comparator, invariably intended for residential use.”

BALANCING ACT

Juggling swimmer numbers – or ‘bather load’ as it is known in the trade – presents a perpetual balancing act.

“It was very common to receive a visit or a call from a swimming pool or leisure manager at lunch time to collect vast quantities of chlorine reducer after he had tipped 40 litres of chlorine into the pool to remove the pea soup which had materialised during very heavy bather loads that morning,” recalls Tim.

“What a disaster! High chemical costs, customer complaints, bleached swimming costumes and degradation of the internal finishes of the pool.”

Forward thinking park operators with swimming pools should have automated not only the chemical dosing, but PAC (polyaluminium chloride) for continuous coagulation and Ultra Violet disinfection units to remove combined chorines and help prevent cryptosporidium.

“A holiday park with the smallest of pools will still be classified as a commercial pool,” advises Jimmy Lamb of the Pollet Pool Group, exclusive UK distributors of Bayrol automatic dosing equipment.

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