What? Cloudy pool water KILLED someone?!? Sadly, yes.

Authorities in Albany, Georgia responded to an emergency call involving a missing teenage boy in a swimming pool and arrived to find the pool so green and cloudy that they could barely see a foot down into the water — and no one at the pool had seen the boy in quite a while.

ALBANY, GA – The condition of the water in a back yard swimming pool in Radium Springs may have contributed to the drowning of a teenager.

15-year-old Jamar Ponder was in town from New Jersey visiting relatives.

Late Tuesday afternoon, he went under the water while swimming with his cousins at the pool on North Rosewood Drive. The water was cloudy, and experts say that is dangerous.

“A group of kids were swimming and they lost one of them and didn’t recognize where he was at and couldn’t find him,” said Albany Fire Chief James Carswell.

A call was made to 911 and within minutes firefighters were on the scene. But even first responders who dove in the pool couldn’t see the teen at the bottom.

“The water clarity was such that you couldn’t see the hand in front of your face, per say. So they actually had to feel with their hands,” Carswell said.

The incident report details the water’s condition as “very murky and green.” The pool was so deep, rescuers “couldn’t make it all the way to bottom.”

Firefighter Brian Anderson used a Self Contained Breathing Apparatus to locate the teen at the bottom of the pool.

It’s not clear how long the teen, who witnesses say was attempting to swim from one side to other, was underwater.

Ponder was rushed to Phoebe Putney Hospital where he died.

“If you can’t see the main drain, it’s not safe to enter the water,” said Jeffrey DuMott. aquatics director at Albany’s YMCA.

…

Statistics show that cloudy or murky water is a contributing factor in nearly 10% of drownings.

Last year a woman drowned in a Massachusetts public pool and wasn’t found for 2 days due to the poor visibility of the water. ( source )

Judging by the description of the water given by emergency responders, we suspect the pool recently had a bad algae problem that its owners had only recently attempted to address with a heavy dose of sanitizer or shock. Very green, algae-infested water usually turns cloudy after the addition of shock and it takes time for the filter to catch all of the dead algae.

Clearing up cloudy water

As with most water chemistry issues resolving a cloudy water situation first requires the correction of any water chemistry imbalances (i.e. pH, Total Alkalinity, Sanitizer Levels, etc.) and enough time for the pool’s filter to do its job.

If you believe you have a need for chemicals to balance your pool water, InTheSwim.Com carries a wide variety of supplies that may come in handy — and they tend to ship quite fast!

Do pool water clarifiers help?

In some respects, yes, but only if the pool owner/operator keeps a close eye on the pool filter’s pressure gauge. Clarifiers do make it easier for a pool filter to catch suspended dead algae particles, yes, but that also means the filter will need to get backwashed more frequently… or water in the pool will not get circulated properly and pools that lack proper circulation will take longer to clear up.

Poorly circulated pool water may also mean that pockets of the chemicals added in the clean up effort will not get distributed evenly and that may, as in the case of certain chlorine shock treatments, result in areas of pool water with very high chlorine concentrations that could potentially harm liners or other pool components.

Basic steps to clean up green/cloudy pool water

1. Make sure pump & filter running optimally (i.e. clean filter thoroughly)
2. Test for critical pool water quality parameters and balance the pool chemistry (pH, alkalinity, hardness, stabilizer, etc.) accordingly
3. Brush wall and floor areas thoroughly and remove any ‘large’ or ‘solid’ material from the water using a skimmer or leaf net
4. Add the appropriate amount of shock treatment to the pool water
5. Allow filter to run non-stop and backwash filter when needed
6. Once water clears up perform a thorough cleaning of the filter, balance the critical pool water quality parameters (including the sanitizer level), and enjoy your sparkling clear pool water

Those simple steps cleared up algae and cloudy water problems in customer pools time and time again BUT every once in a while we stumbled across a pool that defied the rules and we had to employ backup methods such as clarifiers, flocculants, non-chlorine shock treatments, etc.

Moral of the story

Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family of the young man who lost his life in Atlanta, GA earlier this week possibly as a result of getting disoriented under the water in extremely cloudy pool water. More than likely that teen did not have to die so please, everyone, if you cannot see the main drain of a pool from the surface you do not need to get in that water.

Swim safe and in clear, clean water this Summer!

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Recently we saw that a company had a link on its web site entitled Online Pool Water Testing… and quite honestly it seemed a bit weird to think that a company could POSSIBLY test your water over the Internet so naturally we went and checked out the link.

We EXPECTED to find a convoluted bunch of advertising hype leading up to asking us to send a sample of our water to a lab someplace bu we did not find anything of that nature.

The company, In the Swim (www.intheswim.com) posted a very simple online form that asked for just a few simple pieces of information that one could obtain by looking at their pool water and using a test strip like the Pool Check 5-Way Pool Test Strips offered in our online store.

The form asked for the following pieces of information: Pool type (pool or spa), water conditions (cloudy or clear & color if cloudy), visible algae, visible stains, pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness, and free/available chlorine (or bromine).

Then, once we hit the ‘submit’ button it took us to a page where it placed all of our values in a nice, neat table that also contained the industry accepted values for the same pool water quality parameters. This made it very easy for us to see exactly how our pool water quality compared to the way it should be.

We then had a chance to ‘view suggestions’ regarding our personal water quality situation — which we did — and a new page appeared with information regarding possible causes of our pool water woes (we said we had cloudy water and low pH). At this point the program did, of course, give a push for us to add some chemicals to our cart, but never once did the program’s language seem threatening or intimidating… like we have overheard in many pool stores over the years.

• “If you don’t fix this problem right away your pool will rot.”
• “Yeah, you CAN swim in it as-is, but I wouldn’t.”
• “Hey, if the machine says you need these chemicals then you NEED these chemicals.”
• And one of our favorites of all time: “Don’t come crying to us when your skin gets all itchy and your hair turns green, OK?”

Yep. Got to love the untrained, uncouth water testing personnel in some pool stores. Wait, we take that back. No, you don’t have to love them. You SHOULD, however, make use of Pool Check Test 5-Way Strips and the convenient, not-too-pushy Online Pool Water Test program on IntheSwim.Com. No download required, either! It’s 100% online and easy!

Pool Check 5-Way Test Strip

Pool Check 6-Way Test Strip

Pool Check Salt Test Strips

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We had not seen the online water test on In the Swim before and want to thank Water Testing Blog for bringing it to our attention. After playing around w/ it ourselves just now we, too, found the process pretty easy, completely painless and totally worthwhile.

Many pool stores use test methods no more sophisticated than the testing tools than you may already have at home or that you can purchase online at places like In the Swim or from our own Pool Water Test Kit Store.

“My husnband and I both work 2 jobs and take turns shuffling the kids around to all their school, soccer, band and scout stuff. We don’t have time to run back and forth to the pool store every week for more pool chemicals. Do you know a chemical kit that will last us most if not all summer long?”

We certainly empathize with your situation, Mary, since we have kids, too, and have to create time to do ANYthing other than work, housework and drive them hither and yon.

We typically stock up on chemicals from our local pool supply store early in the season and don’t have to make a trip back until at least 3/4 of the way through the season, though sometimes a bit sooner if we get a lot of rain or have 2 or 20 more social gatherings at the homestead.

Since it sounds like you clearly don’t have a lot of time on your hands, Mary, for going to the pool store even ONCE, we suggest that you look into a pool chemical package like the Chemical Season Supply Kit (Large) from Amerimerc.Com, a leading online retailer of pool chemicals, pool test kits, pool supplies, and, of course, pool toys.

What does the kit contain? So glad you asked!

• 50 lb.3in Tablets — Great for day-to-day chlorinating
• 1 qt. Poly 60 Algaecide — A necessary tool for fending off unwanted algae
• 1 qt. Conquest Super Rust & Scale — Keep pesky metal stains out of your water
• 24 x 1 lb. bag Dura Shock — Excellent for shocking & superchlorinating
• 4 lb. pH Increaser — Effective way to elevate the pH of your pool water
• 6 lb. pH Reducer — Effective way to decrease the pH of your pool water
• Aqua Chek Chlorine 3-Way Test Strips — Fastest way to test your pool for vital parameters

Looking for other chemicals and supplies for your swimming pool and want them delivered right to your door? Check out the latest offerings on Amerimerc.Com!

Stainless Steel Counter Top
Water Filter

If you find your self reading this, then you may just have some smelly water showing up at your house, too… and no one likes smelly water! Yuck!

For the folks in Evansville, IN, above average temperatures and low river levels have resulted in an abnormally high amount of algae — ten times the normal amount — appearing in the area’s drinking water source.

Officials say that w/o a good amount of rain (to dilute) and lower temperatures (to help kill off) the algae residents will just have to deal with the bad smell and unpleasant taste.

Yep. Sounds like some folks in Indiana will most likely start searching for water filters and water purification devices REAL soon.

EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) – Recent testing of the water in Evansville revealed startling numbers to the Ohio River Sanitation Commission.

The tests showed the amount of algae in the water is ten times higher than normal.

The excess algae is due to the extreme heat and low river levels. Officials say the smell and the bad taste might be around for awhile.

“It’s going to take a significant amount of rainfall somewhere upstream within in the Ohio River basin, to get the river levels up and to get it flowing faster to help eliminate this problem,” said Roger Johnson, water superintendent for the city.

The water department says regardless of the taste and odor, the water is safe to drink. ( source )

Not to sound like the Twilight Zone again, but imagine, if you will, that you wake up one morning and the water coming out of all your faucets tastes and smells… bad. You quickly call your water company to complain and they say, “Sorry, but you will just have to deal with it for a while.”

Wow. Not a good scenario at all! Most people would scream, curse and pitch a fit at the person on the other end of the phone and then dash out to the store to get a few cases or a truckload of bottled water. Granted that may solve some of the problems — temporarily — but it will not solve them all.

Installing point-of-use water filters (i.e. undersink, counter top and shower) or a whole house water filter system, on the other hand, will solve both short term and long term water problems.

Natural Chemistry Algae Treatment System

Natural Chemistry Phos Free

Many people do not know why algae keep re-appearing in their swimming pool despite the use of shock treatments and superchlorination on a regular basis. Those folks may want to test their water for phosphates, a necessary ‘building block’ for algae blooms. Without phosphates algae has a really hard, if not impossible, time growing.

Phosphates can find their way into swimming pools in several different ways including, but not limited to, rainwater, water used to fill the pool, grass clippings and leaves that have fertilizer residue on them, poolside cleaners and chemicals, body fluids (which includes human waste — see “1 in 5 Americans Admits Peeing in Swimming Pools“), and vegetation (leaves, grass, etc.) which starts to break down in the water.

By removing phosphates with products such as Phos Free, a pool owner can greatly reduce their chances of having a bad outbreak of algae.

Won’t chlorine in the water keep algae from growing?

Tricky question because one would think that chlorine would stop algae from growing, but if other water parameters have strayed out of acceptable ranges or you have a whole lot of combined chlorine (instead of free chlorine) the chlorine in a swimming pool may not work as you’d hope — and the algae will grow.

We use algaecide so we don’t need to worry about algae, right?

Wrong. Most algaecides provide pool owners with an extra layer of protection against algae when chlorine levels drop too low but algaecides do NOT guarantee an algae-free swimming pool.

As an example, suppose your pool pump died over a long weekend when you and the family went camping and as a result no water passed through your automatic chlorinator for a few days. The algaecide in your pool water would slow the development and growth of algae blooms after all the chlorine got used up… hopefully long enough for you to return home, fix the pump, and get more chlorine back in the pool.

Moral of the story?

Frequent testing of your pool for critical water parameters such as free chlorine, pH, alkalinity and phosphates along with using of a good algaecide as a last line of defense makes sense if you want to keep algae out of your pool.