Contaminations in the Penticton Community Centre pool are nothing unusual, and normally amount to only a minor inconvenience for swimmers and staff.
According to Kerry Wagner, recreation operations supervisor with the centre, the pool experiences “about a handful of contaminations per month.” Contaminations can entail fecal matter or vomit in the pool or hot tub.
“Accidents happen, but if we’re aware of some of the things that can stop them from happening, it goes a long way to reducing any kind of closures,” said Wagner.
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While Wagner didn’t have statistics related to how many closures the Penticton pool deals with, she noted that the recent pool closure in Vernon, which was a “full closure for disinfectant and decontamination,” is a very rare occurrence.
“I couldn’t even tell you if we had one (of those types of closures) last year,” said Wagner. “I don’t think we even had one.”
She said the frequency of contaminations is related to pool attendance, saying “when we’re busier, it’s more likely to happen.”
“The types of the foulings that we generally deal with only require us to close the pool for half an hour, clean it out, and then we move on,” she said.
Only when the contamination is liquid does it become more complicated to sanitize. In those instances, Wagner said the pool would be closed for a longer duration, like what happened at the Vernon Recreation Complex pool on Feb. 9.
“For a smaller contamination, it’s just closing to make sure all the material is removed and the chlorine in the pool will take care of any potential risks,” said Wagner. “With a liquid contamination, that’s when we’re looking at a super-chlorination for an extended period of time.”
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Wagner said there are a few things to look out for to help reduce the number of contaminations that do happen.
“Non-toilet trained toddlers and infants should wear good-fitting swim diapers. If people don’t have them or can’t find them, we sell them individually here,” she said. “Everyone, including kids, should use the bathroom before using the pool.
“Really pay attention to kids when they’re swimming. I think sometimes what happens is they get so excited about swimming, especially if they’re newly toilet-trained or younger, they just don’t pay attention to when they need to go (to the bathroom),” she added.
Wagner said it’s a good idea to take children to the bathroom frequently when swimming and avoid any meals before going into the pool.
If anyone is feeling sick or was sick within the last few days, Wagner said it may be best to skip the pool until they’re feeling fully better.
“I’m not sure people realize that a fouling can include when someone vomits into the pool. So when people feed their kids immediately before swimming lessons, they can end up swallowing water and potentially throwing up what they’ve eaten,” Wagner said.
As the Penticton Community Centre prepares to release its spring brochure, Wagner wants to remind parents that children under the age of 7, or non-swimmers from ages 7 to 11, must be accompanied by a responsible person 16 years or older when using the pool.
The supervisor’s main role is to stay within arms reach and in sight of the child or children at all times.
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<>Jordyn Thomson | Reporter
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