Cheney parks and recreation staff are required to clean and disinfect "the pit," pictured above, every time the pool is closed due to human contamination. That clean requires staff to enter the small space to the right of the picture in order to scrub and disinfect.
Cheney parks and recreation department staff have a simple request: if your child is sick or has been sick, don't send them to the swimming pool.
Cheney's pool has been forced to close six time so far this season due to human contamination - with five closures taking place over 10 days that culminated in the latest shutdown Tuesday, July 25. City Administrator Mark Schuller said the pool typically has one or two incidents of contamination-forced closures during the entire season, the lengths of which vary.
"The variety of the contaminants in the pool determines how long we have to close down," he said.
Contamination requires staff to not only physically scrub and chemically treat the affected area, but to also "shock the pool," the term Schuller used for essentially super-treating with chemicals until such a time as Department of Health specifications require to ensure it's safe to reopen. If the contaminant is non-viral, the pool could reopen in 2–3 hours. If it's a viral element, the closure could extend for a day.
The contaminant found on July 25 forced the pool to close for eight hours. Recreation manager Kim Best said closures can affect up to 470 individuals who have paid for pool services such as season passes, swimming lessons and participating on the swim team.
Closures can result in $500 – $800 in chemical costs, most of which is chlorine but also includes calcium hypochlorite, an inorganic mixture of lime and calcium chloride. Best said it also results in $250 – $300 in extra staff hours to clean up, which includes the pool and what's referred to as "the pit:" an 8–9 foot deep concrete vault in the maintenance room where water is treated before being pumped to the pool itself.
Best said the pit must be completely emptied, scrubbed and sprayed - with staff wearing protective gear - before water can be reintroduced. The entire system then requires flushing until chemical levels are met.
Best and Schuller said the recent heat could be a factor in the contaminations, especially if a child is already feeling ill. Mostly, it stems for swimmers not of age or experience level who tire and are not properly supervised by an adult.
"People sometimes use this (pool) as a babysitting services and drop their kids off," Best said.
The pool requires any child swimming without an adult to be at least 10 years old. If supervised by an adult, the child must have a life jacket and be within arm's reach.
Pool staff have also performed four "saves" this season, one of which required calling emergency medical service. That case was an adult who became dehydrated.
Best said the swimming season has been a success so far, with a record number of sponsored free swims and good attendance. The July 23 "Pool Bash" had over 400 people using the pool alone.
The pool's final public swimming day is Aug. 26. Best has a couple of suggestions to make sure its open as much as possible before then.
"If your child is sick, keep them home," she said. "If they do come and contaminate (the pool), keep them home for 72 hours after."
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
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