WHAT’S INVOLVED IN OPERATING A COMMERCIAL SWIMMING POOL?

The Four Areas of Pool Operation and Management

• The assets, being,
  • the pool itself,
  • the hydraulics (plumbing),
  • filtration equipment, and
  • sanitation equipment.
• Sanitation
• Service procedures and record keeping.   
• Staff training 

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THE ASSETS

‍1.     Pool Purpose

 Pools are designed to satisfy a purpose. Examples,

• Olympic Standard Competition Pool.
• Learn to Swim School Pool.
• School Pool.
• Aquatic Centre Pool/s.
• Apartment Building Pool.
• Backyard Pool.

…………….and many more built for purpose pools.

When a purpose-built pool is used for other purposes then we need to be certain that the designed pool can accommodate the new activity such as for example having the required water turnover rate.

If a Learn to Swim School pool was suddenly also used as a Hydrotherapy Pool, then we might be running the risk of overloading the filtration and sanitation systems of the pool. Adding a heap of old people with questionable hygiene and clothing to a pool used by grubby, peeing little kids might not be a good idea. You would need to check the system and perhaps the local authority requirements first.

2.     Essential Information you need at your fingertips   

• Pool Volume
• Pool Dimensions
• Surface Area
• Required Turnover Rate
• Maximum patrons permitted in the different depth areas of the pool.

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3.     Water movement through the pool - know what is happening.

• Where it enters the pool
• Where it leaves the pool
• How long it takes to move between the inlets and outlets.
• How efficient is it?
• Dead areas
• What happens to the water during its movement?
  • Sun exposure throughout the day.
  • Usage throughout the day adding urine, sweat, dead skin, bacteria and more.
  • Debris load expected.
• How does it look. It should sparkle. This will tell you that the water is balanced. This will invite the swimmers and the dollars.

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 4.     Hydraulics Engineering

When you take on the management of an existing pool you are faced with the design, the plumbing, and the equipment that it comes with. Unfortunately, all may not be what it should be. You will need to establish very quickly what you are dealing with as this will have a huge effect on your running costs and future maintenance expenses.  

It is very useful if you have a set of ‘as built’ plans for the pool. These plans can save so much time, trouble and money down the years, but they have the amazing ability to get lost.

Hydraulics Engineers are responsible for specifying the correct size of the equipment installed for a commercial pool. This includes,

• The pump size/s needed to deliver enough pressure to the system so that it will overcome the backpressure created by the plumbing and equipment, as well as to deliver the required water volume turnover per hour.
• The filters need to have a filter surface area that can accommodate the range of flow rates per square meter of filter area (as required for sand filters) specified for the pool.
• The type of sanitation along with the control systems and delivery method.
• Any secondary sanitation systems such as Ozone, UV light.
• Pool heating method/s along with the size of the heating system.
• Monitoring and safety devices.

Having access to this information allows you to check that any changes that have been made to the system comply with the original specification or in some cases to accommodate updates in pool hydraulic requirements and/or regulation changes.

You need also to be aware of environmental requirements that apply to the site. You cannot change the type of filter; where backwash water goes (or the rate at which it travels) without checking with authorities, for example.

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5.     Equipment Knowledge

There is quite a range of equipment purpose and manufacture that is or has been available that will satisfy a specification. When you first take on a pool you need to gather all the information you can about the equipment installed on that pool, along with any history of importance.

• Obtain copies of all the individual equipment item specifications and their operating manuals.
• Check that each item of equipment is working correctly and satisfying the specified requirement for that item of equipment. Is the pump capable of delivering the required flow rate, for example?
• Has an item of equipment been replaced with something that cannot satisfy what was originally specified and is it of good quality. Quality will indicate future costs.

All of this, with a little effort can be easily established. Having this information will also assist in analysing any problem you are experiencing and assist in identifying cost causes.

Along with the main equipment items you will find auxiliary items such as flow meters, VFD’s, pressure gauges, flow sensors and so on. They will all service a purpose in the management of the pool which of course involves containing its costs.

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6.     Water Flow through the Equipment Plumbing.

Follow the flow from the point of suction through to the return. Work out the purpose of each valve. Be sure to know which way a valve is open and which way is closed.

Get familiar with the auxiliary plumbing which branches off the main filtration line.

• Water sample line
• Heating
• Chlorinator
• Chemical feed tubing

7.     Flow Management

Obviously, the flow through the system is generated by the pump. In commercial systems we are required to run the pump for 24 hours a day as well generating enough flow to satisfy the required turnover rate. That’s provided the pool is open for operation.

We have available several equipment items that assist us in achieving and monitor this, including,

• ‍Flow Meters
  • ‍‍As you would expect a flow meter shows the flow rate through the system. Some of them can tell operators a lot more than just the flow rate, but for a swimming pool all we need to know is the flow rate.
  • It’s important that the unit has been installed correctly and in good order. There are usually operational checks that are listed in the manufacturer’s operation manual.
  • One thing that is easily checked and should be, is if the transducers are correctly mounted, as there is every chance they have been moved, all be it only slightly.

• VFD's
  • A Variable Frequency Drive controls the Hertz (Hz) which controls the power entering the pump which in turn controls the shaft speed with controls the flow rate.
  • Having one of these units in the system is a tool for saving money. It is also a tool for causing problems. Having a required flow rate is not a problem if the pool plumbing can handle the flow.
  • A lot of older pools do not have plumbing that can accommodate the required flow rate because it was specified incorrectly, or it has old, cast-iron pipe which has rust buildup. Trying to push too high a flow rate through this plumbing will damage the pump or the old plumbing. That could get real expensive.
  • Know your system and its limitations. I once visited a pool after a complaint about a noisy pump. Yes, it was noisy. The pipe size in the pool plumbing was too small and the VFD had been turned right up. Once the VFD was turned down the pump ran fine. The operators thought they were up for a new pump.
  • If a pool is shut for winter, you can turn you VFD down to save power, but you have to be careful that you don't go too far.
  • Pools that don’t have a VFD are controlled by valves which are turned down to give the required flow rate. This method just puts unwanted backpressure on the pump and that will shorten its life. This alone makes a VFD a good investment.

• ‍Pressure Gauges
  • ‍Pump Gauges – usually before and after the pump. Keeping an eye on the Pump Delivery Pressure is a way of keeping an eye on the condition of the pump. A twelve-month pump service contract is a good idea for commercial pumps. Replacing these pumps is an expensive exercise.
  • ‍Filter Gauges – There is usually a ‘manifold input gauge’ and a ‘manifold output gauge' if there are not individual gauges on the filters. When using the manifold gauges, it is important to have the filters you are not looking at closed. Manufacturers have a maximum differential pressure at which point you must backwash. You need to know what that is. This forms part of the operational safety of the filters and does not relate to backwashing frequency.
  • Pressure Gauges and Backwashing - Understanding how to use pressure gauges will assist in determining backwash frequency. This could be especially important for operators in areas where there are water restrictions.

10. Sanitation Equipment

• Chemical pump
  • Flowrate.
  • Pump % set point.
  • Service frequency.
  • Spare parts on hand or know where to get them.
• Chemical feeder tubing 
  • Condition
  • Last replaced.
• Chemical Storage
  • Bunded
  • Tank safety satisfied.
  • Storage tank age.
• Chlorinator
  • Age of cells
  • Designed output.
  • Salt level range requirement.
  • Unit service requirements.
    • Acid wash.
• Sample Line
  • Sample line pump needs to be kept in good condition. Watch for leaks.
  • Chemical injectors need to be serviced.
• Chemical Controller

Everything we do with a swimming pool is important. Understanding how a chemical controller works and the chemistry of a swimming pool can be the most challenging area of operation for many swimming pool operators. This is an area on its own which will be treated in separate blogs.

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11. Cleaning Equipment

• System used.
  • Robotic cleaners are the most common.
    • Operating manual.
    • Where to get spare parts.
    • Does it need a service?
• Manual System for backup.
  • Is it operational? No good finding out when you go to use it that the pump doesn't work for example.

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SANITATION

Sanitation is such an important and a specialised area in swimming pool operation and management it will be covered in number of following blogs.

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SERVICE PROCEDURES

Service Procedures are the daily, weekly, monthly, 6-monthly and annual pool service activities that need to be performed. All procedures need to be performed at their individual optimum frequency. These activities need to be recorded as completed in a manner that can be understood and checked by pool owners, superiors, external operators, and in some cases local authorities. These records that need to be kept are,

• Chemical tests results completed.
• Chemical additions to the pool.
• Quantities of chemicals added to storage tanks.
• Monitoring equipment reads.
• Checks that need to be carried out.

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For example, someone looking at a Chemical Controller from miles away needs to know what has been happening with the service. For example, was sodium bicarbonate added yesterday and how much? That would be something I would want to know.

Record keeping is an area where diligence is required. If you are not physically well (self-inflicted or not), service procedures must be followed. A lack of diligence can end up costing a lot of money fixing problems that should not have been allowed to develop. Problems that occur are often a result of lack of diligence a few weeks prior to them becoming visible.

Service Procedures vary from pool to pool. They should be reviewed at pre-determined intervals. Service Procedures are a vital clog in the management of a pool. All the fancy equipment in the world will be useless if service procedures are not followed.

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STAFF TRAINING

In my experience of over 20 years in the pool industry I have found that it takes about three years to train a pool service technician. Sure, you can teach them the physical requirements of pool operation in a reasonable period of time, but it takes years for them to get to a point where they can identify and solve problems (in a timely manner at minimal cost) as they arise, and problems do arise. A good service technician will be able to anticipate problems and prevent them happening. Remote Pool Monitoring is a powerful tool in assisting the identification of problems occurring in time to prevent them. Supervision and monitoring of trainees are vital during the training period and in some cases, forever.

This series of blogs is designed to assist service staff and help those new to the industry. Every attempt will be made to keep the information to the essentials. More in depth information is readily available online.

Contact us if you need help with any aspect of swimming pool management. We do specialise in

• ‍Remote Pool Monitoring and,
• Training.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  26.04.2024

Next Blog – “What is a Sanitised Swimming Pool?”

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