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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