A NEW Boss in San Diego!

The SCP (Our Class) Building in San Diego

We opened up our 2010 SCP San Diego CPO class this past Thursday and Friday, March 4-5.  A new boss was in town, too - David Ogren — a.k.a. “David-O”.  Congratulations on the new job and promotion, Dave!  And thank you for the red carpet welcome!

We arrived at SCP the day before class to set up the classroom in advance and everything went very smoothly.

As always, the first day of class is jam-packed with information, but it was no problem for this class!  We had a few 15-20 year veteran pool guys, a 25+ year  aquatics manager of a nearby school district (11 competition pools), and a couple of pool operators/managers of an oceanside resort — one of them was also a bio-chemist!  We had great discussions about pool water chemistry; water balance, chlorine, cyanuric acid (aaah, yes–”cyanuric acid” - “stabilizer” - “conditioner”–whatever you want to call it).

Chlorine / CYA Chart (all values are ppm)

As we were going through CT values of various pathogens it was pointed out that the values did not take in to consideration the effect of cyanuric acid on chlorine.  Yes, CYA does protect chlorine from the sun, but it also slows down the killing time AND oxidation times of the pathogens.  How much does it slow it down? — well — it depends on how much cyanuric acid is in the water.

Here’s a simple chart that shows how much chlorine is needed to have the same killing/oxidation effect per amount of CYA.

Steve Donohoe and David Ogren

There are a couple of great swimming pool maintenance forums out on the internet: Trouble Free Pool and The Pool Forum.  They both have very sound  technical information, backed up by research papers.  This chart comes from the Trouble Free Pool forum: HERE.

Thanks again, David-O….and thanks to your entire SCP crew!  See you again in June!

Return to Riverside - November 6-7, 2009

Thanks for hosting us E.J. Wamsley!

SCP PoolCorp, Riverside, CA / E.J. and Steve

We were at the Riverside SCP facility just six months ago and were reminded again this weekend what a truly nice facility it is!  E.J. and his staff are committed to excellence–and it shows in every corner of the facility and in the friendly atmosphere within.

More good news! - Our classroom in their upstairs meeting room was full!  We had seasoned pool guys there,  some people  just starting in the business,  a few from nearby public school districts, and a representative from a private swim school.  Thank you all for your time and effort in attending our class to learn more about the health and safety of recreational swimming pools!

The tragic accidents of children drowning was discussed, and it was stated a couple of times in class that “one entire pre-school class is lost to drowning every year in Orange County alone!”  Based on a pre-school class size of 7 or 8 children–that is truly a horrifying and tragic analogy to think about, especially in light of the fact that drowning  IS 100% preventable.

Here are a few facts: (as stated in the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act:  H.R. 6-303, Section 1402):

1. Of injury-related deaths, drowning is the second leading cause of death in children aged 1 to 14 in the United States.
2. In 2004, 761 children aged 14 and under died as a result of unintentional drowning.
3. Adult supervision at all aquatic venues is a critical safety factor in preventing children from drowning.
4. Research studies show that the installation and proper use of barriers or fencing, as well as additional layers of protection, could substantially reduce the number of childhood residential swimming pool drowning and near drownings.

Check out a safety tip that we posted back in May 2009:   APP_Safety _Tip_May2009.

Click here to read the Orange County Health Care Agency’s Drowning Fact Sheet:  OCHCA_Drowning_FactSheet

Test Time in Riverside

Thank you E.J. and all of PoolCorp for promoting a safer and healthier swimming pool!   You saved a child’s life today!

And our appreciation goes to Kyle Maddox, for once again opening and locking up the facility for us on his personal Saturdays.   Thanks so much, Kyle!–you rock!

Summer is Here — Let the FUN BEGIN!

Its Memorial Day weekend.  Traditionally it is the start of the swimming season.  We at AnotherPerfectPool want you to thoroughly enjoy your swimming pool – and be SAFE!

Did you know:

• That drowning is one of the major causes of accidents resulting in serious injury and death in children.
• Each year, about 260 children under 5 drown in swimming pools
• In 2004, there were 3,308 unintentional drownings in the United States, an average of nine people per day. (CDC 2006) (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• In 2004, of all children 1-4 years old who died, 26% died from drowning (CDC 2006). Fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years (CDC 2005) (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• A swimming pool is 14 times more likely than a motor vehicle to be involved in the death of a child age 4 and under. (Orange County California Fire Authority)

Don’t be fooled into thinking that your child is safe just because he/she knows how to swim. In a lot of these cases accidents happened even though the child knew swimming. Accidents in the swimming pool can happen very suddenly without warning.

We at APP want to help you protect your children from drowning.  

Make Sure Your Kids are SAFE in your Pool

PLEASE follow these simple pool safety tips:

1. Never allow your youngster to swim alone without any adult supervision. It is quite common to develop a cramp underwater, or for accidents like hitting your head while diving for example, to occur. It is paramount that there should be persons around to help in such situations.
2.  Do not allow children with no knowledge of swimming in or around the pool. For good pool safety make sure that all kids above the age of 4 attend a certified swimming class, or at least learn basic flotation techniques and life saving techniques in case of accidents. Children younger than 4 should always be accompanied by their parents in the pool.
3.  If you have a safety fence around your pool, make sure it locks. Do not leave the pool open and accessible since children can fall inside. Keep your pool safe, and keep your kids away from the poolside. 
   

   Make Sure Your Kids are SAFE at the Lake and at the Beach!

4.  Avoid leaving your kids alone even with small portable pools or water bodies like buckets, fountains, and barrels. There is always a danger of drowning occuring even in small bodies of water.
5.  If you use a solar cover, make sure it is completely lifted out of the pool and stored away – away from the pool. Do not leave your pool partially coverd. Also, make sure that your child does not walk over the pool cover.
6.  For good pool safety, you can make sure that there is always a life saving floation device handy near the pool. Also, every parent should be conversant in basic CPR techniques in case of any accident.
7.  And last, but certainly not the least, to ensure swimming pool safety, be observant. Use the ‘Water Watcher’  program.

Watch Indpendent Pool and Spa Association’s video to learn more about the ‘Water Watcher’ program.

Please let me know if you want some Water Watcher Tags — They are FREE – just let me know and we’ll leave a couple by your pool during our next visit!

Have a Great and SAFE weekend – and a super swimming SUMMER!