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Originally posted by Pool Genius Networks

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 2:19 PM
By GAIL MARTINEAU
ThisWeek Staff Writer

After seven years with the same company, the Plain Township trustees Dec. 28 unanimously voted to use Brecksville-based Hastings Water Works to operate and manage the Plain Township Aquatic Center.

Township officials previously used Lewis Center-based Columbus Pool Management for the aquatics center on Swickard Woods Boulevard but decided to switch to Hastings after receiving unexpected charges and problems when talking with company representatives, trustees chairman Dave Ferguson said.

The township, which also looked at Hastings last year, agreed to enter into a one-year contract with Hastings for $169,900, including both management and pool opening and closing services.

CMP would have cost the township $148,540 for similar services.

A representative from CMP attended the trustees' meeting and said the township would not incur unexpected costs if trustees were to choose CPM.

"I just want to clarify some things that are in our contract this year," said Dan Phillips, the township's CPM account manager. "It is different than what we have done in the past. There will be no additional charges for more lifeguards next year."

Ferguson said he was confident in the research that township officials had conducted prior to making their recommendations. Both township administrator J.B. Bowe and assistant administrator Ben Collins recommended using Hastings.

"I know that the township was very disappointed with how things were handled at one time," Ferguson said. "I think it was two years ago, and they felt like they weren't dealt with in the most equitable way. I was disappointed in CPM and the relationship and how that transpired."

He said Hastings officials provided more details about their services.

"My opinion is based on all the different bullet points," Ferguson said. "This is a lot more specific and very spelled-out services from Hastings, and I know that Eileen (Hull) and J.B. and Ben have reviewed that and are all recommending them."

Bowe said he thought Hastings was the right choice for the township this year.

"We feel like we have come a long way with CMP, but we feel very strong about trying to put the pool on its own," Bowe said. "We feel like with Hastings, they offered us more for our money."

According to the Hastings Web site, the company, formed in 1992, is the largest pool service, maintenance and management company in Ohio.

Hastings serves such clients as the Cleveland Clinic, Oberlin College, the village of Perry and the city of Bedford Heights.

The Plain Township Aquatic Center is scheduled to open Saturday, May 29, 2010. The season will run through Monday, Sept. 6.

Originally posted by ThisWeekNews.com

By Kendra Kozen | 6.23.2009

New research reveals that people’s pool hygiene may be a lot worse than you think, and swim diapers aren’t helping matters. Two separate reports were released recently and experts say both underscore the need for greater efforts to educate users on proper pool behavior, especially in aquatics facilities.

In a survey by the Water Quality & Health Council nearly half of all respondents (47 percent) admitted to engaging in one or more unhealthy pool behaviors. One in five said they have urinated while in a public pool, and approximately one-third said they forgo a pre-swim shower.

“We did the survey because each year we talk about how it’s important for swimmers to be hygienic, and we wanted to get some real numbers on this,” said Linda Golodner, Water Quality & Health Council vice chair and National Consumers League president emeritus. “It shows the media and the public this is a problem, that people are not being hygienic when they go in the pool — and it makes big difference as far as their own health is concerned.”

A growing body of research suggests that urine, as well as other body fluids such as sweat, can cause respiratory problems, skin rashes and other physical ailments when mixed with the chlorine in the pool water to form disinfection byproducts.

Epidemiologist Michele Hlavsa of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said she and her colleagues weren’t surprised by the latest studies. “In fact, we suspect the actual percentage of people who pee in the pool could be higher and that only 17 percent admit to doing it,” Hlvasa said. “As we’ve seen in other studies, swimmers don’t always see the connection between their behaviors and the quality of the water in which they swim.”

Pool operators and patrons also need to think twice about swim diapers. According to research led by Dr. James Amburgey from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, swim diapers do not protect against the spread of the recreational water illness cryptosporidium.

Amburgey and his team tested various swim diapers, including disposables and the reusable variety — with and without vinyl diaper covers. They simulated the release of disease-causing microspheres and found swim diapers release approximately 50 percent of the microspheres within one minute. Vinyl diaper covers lower the rate to about 25 percent.

Amburgey noted that while swim diapers are certainly effective on dry land, once a child is in the water, “the take-home message is these things don’t hold in the crypto.”
“I think the swim diapers provide a false sense of security,” he added. “We need to develop products that work or technologies that will remove the crypto.”

Amburgey’s research was funded by the National Swimming Pool Foundation in Colorado Springs, Colo. “I think the biggest bottom line for us is, it reinforces that educating consumers and making sure they don’t get in the water when they have diarrhea is still paramount,” said Tom Lachocki, Ph.D., CEO of the NSPF.