THE WATER'S ALL CLEAR - WE PROMISE
November 3, 2018
Every day you swim your laps to stay in shape, to train for a race or just to clear your mind. Your body slices through the crystal clear water as you focus on your breathing, your stroke, you. Not once do you worry- is this pool clean? Because it is. Ever wonder how we do it? Enter Jim Goodwin, the Director of Operations Chelsea Piers Acquatics, his team and a high tech system that ensures you never have to worry IF the pool is clean. We sat with Jim to learn more.
What Makes the Chelsea Piers Pool So Clean?
It isn’t one thing, it is a combination of our cutting edge filtration and sanitation systems and the Operations Team’s diligence.
Is there really a difference in filters?
YES. Our three main pools use Defender Regenerative media filters over traditional sand filters. Regenerative media filters are more effective at removing contaminants.
The Defender filter is able to remove particles as small as 1 micron from water while traditional sand filters generally only remove particles in the 20 micron range. To give you perspective, human hair is 50-100 microns, red blood cells are 5-10 microns.
This filter controls turbidity to better levels than those required for drinking water.
Our Olympic pool is vacuumed out 5 days a week (Sunday-Thursday) and our pool deck is hosed with fresh clean water daily to ensure the cleanest and clearest water possible.
Do the filters kill bacteria?
No. For that, we use two forms of sanitation in our pools: Traditional chlorine as well as cutting edge UV light sanitation. Chlorine oxidizse any organic matter in the pool while our UV light penetrates the DNA of microbes and viruses destroying the bonds responsible for reproduction and DNA repair.
Why does the pool at Chelsea Piers not have an overwhelming chlorine smell?
That “pool smell” at some facilities is not actually chlorine but trichloramines. Every chlorine pool including salt water pools (NaCl breaks down into chlorine) will experience some level of trichloramines. Our UV system also targets the chemical bond responsible for Trichloramines reducing swimmer irritation
The chemicals are checked by hand three times a day and via our Chemical Control computer 24/7 to ensure our pools have the most consistent levels possible.
How can swimmers help keep the pool clean?
Showers are provided on deck as well as in all of our locker rooms. We encourage all swimmers to shower before entering the water to reduce the effect of our bather load on our pools. This will not only help keep the pools clean but also assist in preventing dry skin from regular pool use.