Swimming pools do consume water, obviously.
How do we manage it.
Given that pools lose water through,
and given that our concerns about water loss relate to,
If water management is badly managed it can cost a pool operation a lot of money.
Let’s look at the supply side first.
When Brisbane is getting flooded, we tend to forget how close we came to shutting pools towards the end of the water shortages we were facing in 2009. Of course, the regions tend to face this problem more frequently.
I remember when yellow recycle bins first came out in Brisbane there was a big sticker on them instructing us to rinse everything before putting in the bin. At the time we were well into a period in Brisbane when it didn’t rain for 18 months and that request, well!
During that dry period miles and miles of irrigation went in on properties where previously there was little concern about watering as well as on every new commercial site. Every man and his dog put the $20 watering kit in their gardens. There were stacks of them in shops everywhere. When the next dry period after that hit, we were in trouble.
The pool industry is a very big industry. The only time you hear about it is when it gets the blame for water shortages and power consumption. Yes, that’s what happened last time.
If your livelihood comes from the pool industry, then we need as an industry to keep an eye on what government authorities are doing and not assume all is good. We need to watch,
Do you know what the current water supply situation is in your area? Do you know what the authorities will do when the water level supply drops to a certain level? I bet the authorities don’t.
In Brisbane by the end of the drought, we were down to 127 litres of water per day consumption per head of population. We now sit at 169 litres per head of population per day. Apparently at one time consumption was 300 litres per person per day. I’m certainly not suggesting we get back to 127 litres, especially with all the rain we have been getting (in Brisbane). We should note that the Brisbane population has increased by 574,000 since the last drought and I don’t know of any new dams. What I am suggesting is that we identify areas were water can be saved early enough to prevent or delay us getting backdown to the 127-litre level. What are the trigger levels? The 127-litre rate was not a great experience in the lives of many people. Just ask the plant nurseries and people in other industries that were put out of business. The fear applied to people in the pool industry who were staring at a collapse. Hell, Somerset Dam was just about empty, and Wivenhoe Dam was looking pretty sick, as in the old meaning of the word.
“What’s the plan, Frank?”
“What’s a plan. Joe?”
The cost of water went up and you can bet that would be one of the first trigger responses. Another reason for a plan.
Let’s now look at where the water goes.
Evaporation is an area which can be managed.
Air Flow
While we do need some water movement over the surface of a pool to remove those nasty chloramines (combined chlorine) we don’t want a rush of air going over the pool at a rapid rate removing the saturated water vapor that sits above the pool water surface. This just rips the water out of the pool, not to mention the heat. On the other hand, we don’t want a steam bowel either.
I once got called out to quote a ‘heavy’ cover for a rooftop pool, because the building cleaner had been lifted off his feet putting the existing cover (a heavy one, as it turned out) on the pool when the wind got under it. The only solution to that site was to enclose the pool and I very much doubt that ever happened. The wind in the area was tunnelling between the high-rise buildings. Good planning Frank.
Design
Are wind engineering consultants involved in the design of an apartment buildings and do they get any input into the design of a pool? The evidence isn’t there when it comes to pools. Vanishing edges or wet edges are on so many apartment-building roof-top pools. They look fantastic. You sometimes get a marvelous view of the building getting built next door. They are great while there is plenty of water supply and people are prepared to pay for the water loss. One rooftop pool I was involved with was losing at least 800 litres per day. It had a vanishing edge, and you could see the water being blown off the wall on a windy day. I believe these pools should have a skimmer box type backup option which allows you to turn the overflow off during bad weather and at night. A good quality controller can be used to activate valves to run the changeover. Trouble is, that this just adds to the expense of the pool build, like so many long-term cost benefits to a building, it won’t happen without a regulation and often regulations make building next to impossible. Vanishing edges were rare in 2009 and not an issue, but what will happen next drought Frank?
Pool Covers
Pool Cover manufacturers and wholesalers loved the last drought because all the pools had to be covered.
Heated pools are supposed to be covered and that does not always happen. It seems that the cost of heating is preferable to having to put covers on and off daily. Or is just because they are unsightly?
Some of these pools will be quite difficult to cover.
At what water storage levels will pools have to be covered again? Can you tell us that Frank, please?
Filter Cleaning
Filter cleaning can be done according to
The set frequency method works fine when water is plentiful, but the calculation method should be known to be able to use it when required.
Water Replacement to manage TDS
TDS will be a separate blog. Operators are supposed to replace anything from 15 litres to 60 litres per day per swimmer depending on what you read. Backwashing would take care of a big chunk of this, and my guess is that this would be the only replacement water that most pools would get during normal operation. It is a different story for those pools with cartridge, DE or regenerative media filtration.
Water removal by Swimmers
Not much we can do about this one. I cannot see how shaking like a wet dog over a collection grate would work.
What do you think Frank? Not a good plan.
Leakages
Now this is definitely one to watch. This one can really affect the bank balance and you won’t be able to blame Frank for this one.
During the drought, big drops in water consumption were made when all consumers were forced to look for water loss. What a novel idea. Tap washer sales went up for a start. Hoses that were kept running all day were suddenly controlled by a tap. Amazing.
A good one that occurs quite often in the pool industry is the automatic top up. I have seen several (including on commercial pools) over the years where these devices were topping up and draining at the same time. Top-ups are an item that needs to be on a pool service check list.
Salt loss or a drop in TDS is usually a good indication of a pool leak. Leaks cost you for replacement water, chemicals, and heating (if heated).
What’s the plan Frank?
We, as individual pool operators need to establish what is the acceptable level of consumption that the pool best operates at in order to complete filter cleaning, TDS management and the other expected water losses. Commercial pools and apartment building pools should be using water meters to monitor pool water consumption. The right type of water meter can be and should be connected to your pool controller. Reading the meter daily would then be one less duty for a staff member to perform (reliably). Remote monitoring will give management access to the ‘right now’ and historical information. That information will give you the power to further analyse the causes of water loss for a pool.
Knowing your water requirements will allow you to establish your “What if?” plan.
Useful Links
Body Corporate Water and Rates - MyBodyCorpReport.com.au
Prices and charges 2023 - 2024 (urbanutilities.com.au)
