www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk
WaterTesting FEB 2011 SPN
73
POOL WATER TESTING – THE FUTURE IS CLEAR
The ability to provide clear and safe water for swimming is linked to regularly and accurately testing its quality. Ease of use and accuracy are the important criteria in a market constantly developing and creating new systems. Staff training and regular, careful testing with full records has become as important as the many high quality products on the market which are available to choose from
By Alan Lewis
La Motte Pool and Spa test instruments which includes the Insta- Test strips from Sword Scientific
T
esting devices for water analysis seem to be everywhere these days. And rightly so as achieving bacteria free water is critical and a strong testing regime which ensures it stays that way is essential for the reputation of the pool industry. The best route for crystal clear water is linked with the ability to regularly test its quality and to do so with systems which are easy to use and have the highest possible level of accuracy.
Taking cost, ease of use, precision and calibration into account there’s a range of quality systems which makes the choice straightforward for pool owners and managers. Regardless of the system and product, whether it be tablet, strip or a digital option the real benefit is they can eliminate some of the “guesswork” that is typically required.
But some service professionals are still hesitant to use them, perhaps because they don’t understand how these systems work.
As the pH in a swimming pool is the single most important parameter, accurate testing is an absolute priority. Testing methods on the market vary from test strips and phenol red tablets to digital photometers and pH meters. Of these a pH meter is acknowledged to be the most accurate, fast and easy to use method. It uses no reagent but gives an instant digital readout across the full pH scale. Certainly the need for commercial and local authority pools to get their water testing systems right has never been under more scrutiny. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which maintains its control of swimming pools through HSG179, has warned that standard procedures for testing water quality in UK pools are not being kept to and has argued for regular and more accurate testing. In the past it has written to local authority and commercial pools to warn of the dangers and to remind them that improved technology products should be making the task easier.
Significantly it urged local authorities to ‘invest in new generation testing equipment’. It also sought tighter
measurements on chlorine and ‘top up’ levels of the chemical and it added a reminder that regular testing documentation should be available. The HSE’s view is: “Water balancing is not a complicated exercise. It is the relationship between different chemical parameters. Water is constantly changing, year round. Everything from weather to oils, to dirt, and cosmetics affect water balance. Continuous filtration and disinfection removes contaminants which keep the water enjoyable but this is does not balance your water.” The move to more sophisticated and accurate swimming pool test kits should have one target – to provide test results that would normally be associated with laboratory analysis undertaken by trained technicians. That target should be possible. Some of the water testing products on the market are produced by
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