Can Water Lack Clarity Yet Be "sanitary?"

[SouthFloridian]

Admittedly an algae problem got way out of hand, and I kept procrastinating. My neighbor called the local code enforcement who showed up and gave me a deadline to "address" the problem. Finally realizing I neither have the time nor expertise to maintain the pool, a service was hired who arrived that very day and began the clean up. By the end of the day, the water was already clearing up and was no longer green. The service continued coming daily to check various chemical levels and add things, etc. When the code enforcement officer came back about three days later and was told the problem was addressed, he asked to see the pool at which point he said he had to be able to see the bottom of the pool. Now he's threatening to start fining on a daily basis until he can.

Is he off base here? It's my understanding that high levels of chemicals, including chlorine, can cause the water to be cloudy, yet they're the very things used to keep harmful organisms out of the water. Any advice or insight?

[chem geek]

Admittedly an algae problem got way out of hand, and I kept procrastinating. My neighbor called the local code enforcement who showed up and gave me a deadline to "address" the problem. Finally realizing I neither have the time nor expertise to maintain the pool, a service was hired who arrived that very day and began the clean up. By the end of the day, the water was already clearing up and was no longer green. The service continued coming daily to check various chemical levels and add things, etc. When the code enforcement officer came back about three days later and was told the problem was addressed, he asked to see the pool at which point he said he had to be able to see the bottom of the pool. Now he's threatening to start fining on a daily basis until he can.

Is he off base here? It's my understanding that high levels of chemicals, including chlorine, can cause the water to be cloudy, yet they're the very things used to keep harmful organisms out of the water. Any advice or insight?

The problem with cloudy water, assuming the Free Chlorine (FC) is high enough, is not that it is unsanitary, but that it is unsafe. If you cannot see the floor drain clearly enough, then you may not see someone who has drowned and is lying at the bottom of the pool. That's the reason the code requires you to be able to see to the bottom of the pool with a certain degree of clarity (see this link for a story explaining why).

However, something doesn't sound right about this situation. Usually code enforcement officers don't go to residential pools (even if contacted) and your use of the term "neighbor" makes this sound like a residence (is it?). Also, fining you daily doesn't make any sense since even in a public/commercial pool all you have to do is shut the pool down so that it isn't in use until the pool is in compliance. They usually give you enough time to clear the pool and unless you use a flocculant or clarifier at extra cost, it usually takes up to a week to fully clear a pool that has significant algae (see this link for a pool that used chlorine bleach alone to clear a pool and the stages it went through).

Richard

[SouthFloridian]

Admittedly an algae problem got way out of hand, and I kept procrastinating. My neighbor called the local code enforcement who showed up and gave me a deadline to "address" the problem. Finally realizing I neither have the time nor expertise to maintain the pool, a service was hired who arrived that very day and began the clean up. By the end of the day, the water was already clearing up and was no longer green. The service continued coming daily to check various chemical levels and add things, etc. When the code enforcement officer came back about three days later and was told the problem was addressed, he asked to see the pool at which point he said he had to be able to see the bottom of the pool. Now he's threatening to start fining on a daily basis until he can.

Is he off base here? It's my understanding that high levels of chemicals, including chlorine, can cause the water to be cloudy, yet they're the very things used to keep harmful organisms out of the water. Any advice or insight?

The problem with cloudy water, assuming the Free Chlorine (FC) is high enough, is not that it is unsanitary, but that it is unsafe. If you cannot see the floor drain clearly enough, then you may not see someone who has drowned and is lying at the bottom of the pool. That's the reason the code requires you to be able to see to the bottom of the pool with a certain degree of clarity (see this link for a story explaining why).

However, something doesn't sound right about this situation. Usually code enforcement officers don't go to residential pools (even if contacted) and your use of the term "neighbor" makes this sound like a residence (is it?). Also, fining you daily doesn't make any sense since even in a public/commercial pool all you have to do is shut the pool down so that it isn't in use until the pool is in compliance. They usually give you enough time to clear the pool and unless you use a flocculant or clarifier at extra cost, it usually takes up to a week to fully clear a pool that has significant algae (see this link for a pool that used chlorine bleach alone to clear a pool and the stages it went through).

Richard

Richard,

Thank you for the reply. That makes sense about why the water has to be clear and was not something I thought of, but the problem he cited was related to the spread of disease and "harboring flies, mosquitoes and other arthropods." And to confirm, it is a residential pool. He came a week ago yesterday. And of course we got rain for the first time in about three months since he came, throwing everything off. The service is set to add the clarifier today, so hopefully that does the trick and he gets off our back.

Again, thank you for the response and the links.

[AZMermaid]

In Arizona a green pool (residential or commercial) is against the law. Neighbors are turning in neighbors all over. When code enforcement (Vector Control) comes out they might give you a certain number of days to clean it up (and usually do) but they don't have to. If they choose to fine you the first offense is $500.00 and you have to clear it up. If there is a second offense, within 2-5 years, you get a $2000.00 to $5000.00 fine and JAIL TIME!!!

[AZMermaid]

In Arizona a green pool (residential or commercial) is against the law. Neighbors are turning in neighbors all over. When code enforcement (Vector Control) comes out they might give you a certain number of days to clean it up (and usually do) but they don't have to. If they choose to fine you the first offense is $500.00 and you have to clear it up. If there is a second offense, within 2-5 years, you get a $2000.00 to $5000.00 fine and JAIL TIME!!!

[chem geek]

Wow! Well, I can understand the issue of not having a mosquito breeding ground so addressing green pools is one thing, but once you are in the process of clearing a pool and have sustained chlorine in it, then I don't know why they are so picky about it being cloudy for a few days. No mosquito eggs will survive the chlorine and the cloudiness is just dead algae waiting to be filtered or further oxidized by chlorine. Thanks for correcting me.

Richard

[SouthFloridian]

The problem I have with it is that it's no longer green. In fact, it was no longer green after day one. As Richard notes, there is no way anything's living in there. But I guess I should be happy I won't face jail time. At any rate, even after four inches of rain yesterday, you can now see the drains at the deepest part of the pool. Hopefully that will suffice for the officer, and we can put this to rest.

[AZMermaid]

There's really not a lot of help to offer if the green's already been taken care of. You're probably dealing with an enforcement guy who isn't aware of what he's actually enforcing, but gets to throw his weight around. Probably not a good idea to tell him he's full of ----. Now that you can see the drain, you should probably be okay. Have a great sparkling pool summer.