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Pool Trader App – Technology for Pool Service Companies

Pool Trader App - Technology for Pool Service Companies

About the Creator:

My name is Joe Wilmot and I am the creator of the Pool Trader app. I am a fellow pool technician that started in the industry in 2008 with my business H2Joe Pool Service & Repair here in Fountain Hills, AZ.

Pool Trader is a totally free app specifically designed for anyone in the swimming pool industry. The original idea and goal was to create something that can help everyone, especially weekly service techs, to get tighter routes. I drove ALL over the valley here in the Phoenix area for years, going as far as 45 minutes in every direction to service pool accounts. I would constantly drive by other pool companies or even park across the street from a fellow tech as he went into his customers yard, and me into mine. It would frustrate me to think of how far I was driving to my accounts. On occasion I would get to speak with a fellow tech as we serviced the same area, and some were doing the exact same thing I was, driving a lot of miles, but a few would say, “I live just around the corner”!! And this is where the spark of the idea came.

There NEEDS to be something where we can all work together and help one another get tighter routes. The only ways accounts were being bought and sold is 1 – a broker, 2 – craigslist or 3 – a flyer posted on the cork board at the local wholesaler. That’s what Pool Trader is, it’s a meeting place where at the click of a button you can see what’s going on in your area.

At this moment on 5/24/2020 there are 70 posts or listings in 11 states nationwide and 2 countries! Yes it’s actually international!!

Very simple…..

  • download the app from the apple or google play store or you can go to my website pooltrader.net for the links. 

  • Then you can either create an account (FREE) or continue as a guest, click on map and you’ll see all the current listings. If you click on the “LIST” tab it will show you all listings in the order of closest to furthest from your exact location.

  • If you want to make a post you will have to create an account first, very simple and quick. 

  • Then you have 3 options: for sale, wanted, services offered.

 For sale can be 1 pool or 100 pools and it will pop up as a red pin on the map – for example (For Sale – 2 accounts in the east valley, looking to tighten up my route, $500 each, contact me for more info). A wanted post will let everyone know where your business is located, or where you want to concentrate your business, it will be a green pin on the map (Wanted – 10-15 pools in the west valley, please send me a lead if you get something in my area and you are too busy or don’t service this area. Thank you!) Or Service Offered, blue pin –  (Joe’s heater repair, I’m located in the North valley and I repair all brands of gas and electric pool heaters). All of these are what you will see examples of on the app.

Personal Story


So it applies to anyone in the industry not just service techs, I’m trying to help everyone stay as local as possible to lower their overhead and maximize profit and most importantly, spend more time doing the things you love away from work 🙂. I’m just a fellow pool man trying to solve a problem that this industry has. I’ve been so overjoyed to have users reach out to me and tell me their success stories! I attended and rented a booth at the Desert Pool and Spa show here in PHX, AZ in January of this year, just to put a face to the name and meet everyone in person. A husband and wife team that have a pool service company in Peoria, AZ came up to my booth and shook my hand to say thanks…then they said, “we sold our route using your app in 15 minutes!” To which I said, “WHAT!!!???”

They explained, they had been trying to sell 31 pools to downsize their workload. They posted on Facebook and other places. Thankfully someone replied to them saying, “you should list it on the Pool Trader app”, and thank you by the way to whoever you are, your spreading the word is what this is all about!! The husband said “we were just watching a movie and winding down for the night so I said to my wife, yeah list the route on that Pool Trader app. And 15 minutes later I got a text from a guy who was seriously interested! We met soon after that, he road with me for 2 weeks to see the pools in person, and he paid for it in full, DONE!” So the contact was made in this wonderful success story in 15 minutes…WOW! I’m not going to lie I actually got a little choked up as they told me this story. To think that My app is helping people already is beyond words.

It’s growing every day and I have been in touch with numerous people and companies that want to be a part of what I’m trying to do. What does that mean for everyone? It means I intend to keep this free for everyone, forever. Many wonderful things are coming in the near future to provide even more assistance and benefits to everyone who uses the app. I am so thankful I got into this industry and am so very excited to be a part of it for years to come. 

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SMART (ALEXA) SPA REMOTE

SMART (ALEXA) SPA REMOTE

By Jim Odom

Have you ever wanted to turn your spa on or heater for the pool while traveling home from work or from the comfort of your home? 

Well now you can with an inexpensive upgrade to your Jandy Aqualink controller. The SMART SPA REMOTE is an after-market add on printed circuit board (PCB) that works with old and new Jandy controllers (Jandy Aqualink 2.0, Aqualink RS models : RS 4,6,8,12,16,24,32, 2/6, 2/10,2/14,2/22,2/30).

It adds ALEXA voice, wifi  and app capabilities to your Jandy and without the expensive Jandy  iAqulaink Web Connect upgrade Jandy requires, plus it works with the older RS models.

 

You simple connect a few wires to the Jandy Spa Connector, you connect up 2 wires for power , you use your phone to configure the SMART SPA REMOTE so that it has access to your home wifi. You open up the free Alexa app , it discovers 4 devices plus the temperature and you are off and running. You can control any 4 relays or actuators and view the pool/spa temperature.

 

                       Check it out the website at www.smartsparemote.com

                                            

Demonstration Video

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certified pool operator training class Florida

Daily Chemical Logs During COVID-19

Daily Chemical Logs During COVID-19

Do I need to Maintain a Daily Chemical Log During A COVID-19 Pool Closure??

The answer is No. But only if your pool was actually closed. 

   

    What does this mean??
The pool should have been locked up at all points of access into the pool OR posted closed at all points of access. 

How Do I Mark My Daily Chemical Log During COVID-19 Pool Closure??

Your daily chemical log should be marked it was closed during COVID-19 time period to show this was why the pool was closed. 

If the aquatic facility was open during the COVID-19 pandemic, then you would be required to record your daily disinfectant and pH levels.

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COVID-19 & Shutting Down of Hot Tubs/Spas

COVID-19 & Shutting Down of Hot Tubs/Spas

The CDC has heard from many partners in the aquatic industry about the need for guidance on shutting down  of hot tubs/spas related to aquatic facility closures for COVID-19 pandemic.
The closure of hot tubs/spas could possibly create conditions favorable for Legionella and other bacterial growth in these aquatic facilities. The recommendations below are adapted from the Model Aquatic Health Code(MAHC) from the CDC:

Steps for Shutdown:

  1.       Clean accessible surfaces, scrubbing away slime and biofilm
  2.       Apply a biocidal shock treatment
  3.       Drain and remove as much water from the system as possible
  4.       Remove filters
  5.       Leave filters to dry*
  6.       Keep the hot tub/spa as dry as possible, protecting it from external water sources (for                  example, hoses)


    *Clean filters before reuse and replace filters or filter media as recommended by the manufacturer

    For more recommendations on preventing illness and injuries at public aquatic facilities, visit

    https://www.cdc.gov/mahc/index.html.

     

     

Legionella is a bacteria that can grow in improperly maintained hot tubs/spas. The bacteria can thrive in the hot water when the disinfectant is not properly maintained per state code requirements. It causes pneumonia in those that are immuno-compromised, especially our senior populations. 
Testing is frequent and since testing is cheaper and easier to do in a lab now, results of this bacteria for active pneumonia patients is becoming more common. This is the main reason why during shutdown that the CDC want pool operators to follow these guidelines to prevent an Recreational Water Illness(RWI) outbreak. 

The last thing we need is to get our communities ill with Legionella during this pandemic. Please follow these guidelines very closely.

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Chlorine Levels for Pool Surface Disinfection for COVID-19

Chlorine Levels for Pool Area Disinfection for COVID-19 by Lauren Broom, B.S., R.S., PHTA Instructor

    Household Chlorine                   (Bleach)

Household bleach is 6% bleach active ingredient sodium hypochlorite with a final strength of 600 ppm, and the 6% bleach is available from grocery and big box stores. 

The 600 ppm chlorine strength from 2.5 TBSP in a gallon of water must have a wet contact time of 2 minutes.

     Pool Chlorine (Bleach)

The liquid commercial strength from a pool store is double~ 12%.  So this commercial grade for pools could be diluted by using half the amount of 12% bleach (Only 1.25 TBSP) for the mix with a gallon of water to acheive the 600 ppm strength desired.  

 

 

Any brand of High Range Chlorine test strips should be used to verify the 600 ppm residual is achieved.

For disinfection of handrails, doorknobs and other frequently touched surfaces, charts indicate a stronger chlorine solution, just over 1,200 ppm chlorine from mixing 1/3 cup (or 5.3 TBSP) to a gallon of water, with a wet contact time of 1 minute.



Personal Protective Equipment(PPE) for use of the finished disinfectant is eye protection and rubber gloves, so can also be worn mixing the bleach with water.

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Online Certified Pool Operator®(CPO®) Course Option

Online Certified Pool Operator® CPO® Course Option

The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance is temporarily allowing full online option for the Certified Pool Operator CPO Course due to the current global pandemic of COVID-19.

The format is set up as a 8 hour self paced online course(Pool Operator Primer) + one day Live Online Virtual Course + Online CPO Exam!!

 

Pool Service has been deemed as an essential service during Shelter in Place Orders in most municipalities.

Thus our pool operators still need to obtain and or renew their pool operator certification and continue their education during this pandemic.

Take advantage of this limited time offer to take a CPO Course from your own home with Space Coast Pool School!!

Don’t Let Isolation Stop Your Education!!

Format for Class:

Your CPO Online will be broken up into two sections:
1) The Pool Operator Primer (POP)  –self guided 8 hour online course and completed on your schedule online
2) Live Virtual Class (LVC) 9 am – 5 pm(Eastern Time) on online platform with Lauren Broom(LIVE) Online CPO Exam Proctored

How to Register:

Pick one of the online course options and dates. https://www.spacecoastpoolschool.com/class-registration/

Then our company will send you all your information to get started on the POP course and the link for the online Live Virtual Class

 

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Public Pools & COVID-19

Public Pools & COVID-19

Author: Lauren Broom, B.S., R.S., PHTA Instructor

The COVID-19 virus is deactivated quickly using your regulatory pool code compliant chlorine or bromine levels in pools and spas. Per CDC and the World Health Organization, there is no evidence that the virus can be spread by water. 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/water.htm

This global pandemic has changed all of us so much and has caused many questions to be asked:

  • What concentration of chlorine will kill the COVID-19?

  • Is it safe to swim in a public swimming pool during the pandemic?

     

  • Is my community allowed to close our clubhouse and the public swimming pool during the pandemic?

These among many other questions are being asked of health departments that regulate public swimming pools across the country as this pandemic is affecting the whole world. 

The questions that are not being asked directly or addressed outside of water quality but should still be considered when giving an answer to these public pool facilities to think about before they decide to open or close their pool are:

  1. What are the common surfaces in your pool area that people are going to be touching?

  2. How often are those surfaces going to be disinfected on a daily basis?

  3. What disinfectant are you using for the surfaces going into the pool area and within the pool area? Is it EPA certified to kill COVID-19?

  4. If you are using bleach are you using it in the proper concentration? Do you even know what concentration it needs to be to kill COVID-19?

  5. Who is going to be responsible for this disinfection of all the surfaces?

  6. Who’s going to be in charge of making sure people are following the CDC recommendations of less than 10 people on the pool deck and 6 feet apart?

  7. Who takes liability if something does happen?

As health departments and communities start considering these questions they are going to start figuring out these questions are not always easily answered. The liability for some of these property owners may outweigh the need to have the pool open but that will not be mandated by your local county health department if that facility is closed or not.

What health departments may recommend if you called them today would be:

  • Verify that your pool company or pool operator is maintaining at all times a minimum of a 1 ppm chlorine concentration in a swimming pool or a 2 ppm concentration in a spa or minimum of a 3 ppm of bromine in the spa.

     

  • Verified surfaces that you have going into your pool area that would be touched. Examples are:  
    • Latch or handle of entrance gate into pool area 
    • Door handles from clubhouse door into pool area
    • Door handles for poolside bathroom doors
    • Pool handrails
    • Pool ladder handles
    • Tables and chairs within the pool area
    • Poolside bathroom surfaces inside like sinks, toilets, etc.
  •  Now that you verified those surfaces you need to pick an EPA microbial disinfectant that can kill coronavirus: see link for EPA list 
  • If you use to choose to use bleach, please follow the procedures below for mixing the proper concentration to kill COVID-19 and how to apply to surfaces properly.

                                               Lastly, everyone WASH YOUR HANDS!!!

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Technology in the Pool Industry: Phone App that Connects Pool Pros with Pool Owners

Technology in the Pool Industry: Phone App that Connects Pool Pros with Pool Owners

Technology like phone apps, computer programs for monitoring chemical levels, and other advanced technology are and will continue to evolve. The technology can be viewed as helpful to the consumer or pool pro or it may be early in its inception to meet their needs as of yet.  People will continue to use technology to make their lives and jobs easier. This is an example of a phone app that is available on the Android and iPhone platforms. Your decisions as a pool operator are all going to vary depending on your company’s unique needs and wants. Please have a open mind with any technology that is initially introduced and make your own decision without malice against other. It’s not a “one size fits all.”
—Lauren Broom, Space Coast Pool School, LLC

Author: Santo Leo, Co_Founder & CEO /Pool Today

Turn your pool truck into a Ferrari. Pilot by PoolToday is now live! Early bird special promo at the end of this blog. Have you ever thought about having your own on-demand mobile app for pool service?

We hear this all the time “I had this idea!” from Pool Pros we interview to join PoolToday, the first marketplace that connects Pool Pros with Pool Owners, without having to pay for leads.

Since officially launching PoolToday about two months ago, we have been inundated with Pool Pro sign ups and customers from so many different parts of the country that we have been struggling to keep up.

This is a great problem for a startup to have, but my co-founders and I have been frustrated, because we obviously want to grow as fast as possible, especially since our software is built to work nationwide and customers who are on it love it (we have a perfect NPS score based on anonymous user feedback).

Additionally, we know PoolToday has helped Pool Service Pros in Florida. We have found that customers are 30% more likely to pay for parts and repairs through our app than without it. In fact, in a matter of weeks we have expanded from just pool service to offering over a dozen different products and services.

However, our problem is that in some markets we have 20+ Pool Pros trying to join in the same city. How do we decide who is accepted? It’s a complicated process, and slow. And to add to this issue, we have customers signing up in markets that we did not plan to launch for years. We have bene primarily focused on the sun belt.

America is HUGE. There are 30,000+ zip codes! We realize it will take us years to efficiently launch a marketplace in every one of them, with the right number of customers and contractors. My co-founders and I have spent a lot of time trying to come up with a solution on how to launch markets faster.  Then we got a bit of inspiration….

After listening to a podcast by the Founder of Poshmark, it turned out Poshmark had this same problem: too many sellers were joining their platform, and that didn’t necessarily mean a better experience. Poshmark then implemented a fee to the seller and was able to focus on the top sellers who were (actually) going to invest the time into innovating and growing their business.

We started thinking:

What if Pool Pros could use our technology for their own route management AND get the benefits of new customers from PoolToday’s marketplace?

We do not set prices, we actually help pros charge MORE, here's how:

  1. Pool pros tell us what to charge. If there are multiple pros we average what they are telling us. If it’s their own market with Pilot, they get to choose entirely. But, either way, pros tell us what to charge.

  2. We also bill every service, so that’s 52 weeks of paid service whereas the average pro typical doesn’t get paid for all 52 weeks.

  3. Also, the way our soft ware is setup the customer doesn’t get a price for a job. The pro sets flat rate pricing. So instead of the customer shopping amazon for a filter and haggling, the ability for them to just see the price in the app has a psychological effect that helps induce them into buying, Think about it: did you spend more money before or after buying from amazon? ‘They aren’t always the cheapest: it’s the ease of purchase that induced you to spend more. 

Having to get up, leave the house, shop, stand at a register, slowed the process down and in turn made you double think whether you really needed to buy that thing. When you can open your phone and tap a button, there is less friction. So they become more likely to buy.

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TECHNOLOGY FOR POOL SAFETY AWARENESS💦

Technology for Pool Safety Awareness

By: Mr. Lee C. Richerson Jr. CEO Minds Over Matter LLC

Here in the 21st Century we humans 
consider ourselves tech savvy, yet
with all the high-Tech advances we
have made, we still have not solved
the problem of unintentional drownings in swimming pools across America.About
3,500 children drown every year here in the USA. I have invented a swimming pool monitoring device that can &
will, help save lives. We all can join
this journey & bring pool safety awareness to families & swimming pool
owners. Time to use our technology 
in ways that can make our lives safer!
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Animals in Florida Public Swimming Pools

Animals in Florida Public Swimming Pools

Which animals are allowed in Florida public swimming pool areas?

cpo class training students testing pool water

When you visit a public pool in Florida you may see any type of dog within the fenced in pool area. It does not mean this dog should be there. People love bringing their dogs with them to the public condo pool to either hang out with them or go swimming with them.

The only animals allowed within Florida Dept. of Health rule in the fenced in pool area is a service dog. Service dog as defined by U.S. Department of Justice and the American with Disabilities Act(ADA) is a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. The tasks that are performed by the dog shall be directly related to the person’s disability.

Table of Contents

What are some examples of “work or perform tasks”?

The dog shall be trained to take action when needed to help the person with a disability.

Examples:

A person with diabetes that has a dog that is trained to alert the person when their blood sugar reaches levels too high or low.

A person with epilepsy may have a dog that is trained to detect an oncoming seizure and also helps that person from falling or getting hurt from the seizure.

It could even include a person with depression that has a dog that is trained to remind them to take their medications.

Occaionally, people want to claim an emotional support animal as a service animal in order to have them on the pool deck or fenced in pool area. The ADA does show distinction between a psychiatiric service animal versus an emotional support animal. The  dog that is trained to sense an anxiety attack will occur and can take a action to help the person avoid the anxiety or help with dealing with it is considered a service animal.

If a dog is only present to provide comfort to the person but does not have a specific action to help with their disability then it is an emotional service animal and is not considered a service animal.

If the dog is an emotional support dog and any other designation this does not meet the definition of a service dog and that animal should not be present on the pool deck or within the fenced in pool area. 

Service animals are allowed within the fenced in pool area and pool deck but the animal is not allowed in the pool water. The service animal is allowed only up to the pool edge to assist the person in and out of the pool.

Service animals are not required to wear a vest, identification tag or any specific harness. The service animal is not required to have a certificate showing it is a service animal. 

What Questions can be asked by the Aquatic facility?

  1. “Does your dog provide a service?”

  2. “What is your dog trained to do?”

How do animals affect pool water quality?

An average sized dog is equal to 50 swimmers in the pool. Thus, dogs add a large bio-load to the pool water. What is bio-load? In simple terms, it is all the waste that is added or contained in the pool water. A  dog will bring fecal matter into the pool water, along with insects, body oils, dirt. Animals often have small particles of fecal matter stuck in their fur. That fecal matter will contaminate the pool water, This aids in the transmission of Recreational Water Illnesses (RWI’s), like as E. coli, Giardia, Hepatitis A, and Cryptosporidium. In turn, with the increased bioload added to the pool water by the dog, you will use more sanitizer than normal. This is due to the free chlorine now binding with the added contaminants and fur. This bioload will affect the pH  and consume your free chlorine very quickly. 

Dog hair is harder on a filter system. It contributes to your filter having more contaminants that could reduce your filtration rate through the filter. Your lint/strainer basket located in your pool pump will end up doing most of the heavy work. The pool operator may have  to do some extra skimming the following day once the hair settles. If there is a cartridge filter on your pool the extra dog hair may mean that the pool operator will have to clean the filter element more often. A sand filter  may need to be backwashed more frequently as well. 

A certified pool operator can maintain pool water safe for human swimmers by maintaining proper chlorine disinfection and  proper flow rate through the filter system. It is important that the pool equipment system is operated long enough to thoroughly filter the water and chemically treat it. This is attained by making sure that the pool turnover rate is attained on the pool.  An operator could use a skimmer sock to catch dog hair to remove it from the pool water before it gets to the filter system. The use of the skimmer sock could help in reducing clogs and cleaning time of the filter system. 

Florida Specific Regulations

Public swimming pool regulations in Florida do not allow animals in the fenced in or within 50 feet of unfenced pool. This rule is even required on the pool rules sign that has to be posted on the pool deck area. Only service animals are allowed within these areas but service dogs are not allowed in the pool water. 

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Prevent Childhood Drowning

Drowning: The Silent Aquatic Public Health Threat

What can be done to reduce the drowning threat in our local communities?

By: Lauren Broom, Space Coast Pool School, LLC

Table of Contents

Introduction

Aquatic facilities provide exercise, recreation and entertainment for our local communities, especially here in Florida. Florida has a full year operational season with no requirement to winterize aquatic facilities, but this increases our statistics of childhood drowning to occur. There are many reasons  that have contributed to the increase of drowning in our state that need to be addressed. My hope with this article is to shed some light to those in our communities that do not understand that this is a silent public health threat that is not spoken about.

The reasons for some entities or persons not identifying this as a silent epidemic among our children could be due to money or budget constraints, lack of knowledge either intentional or unintentional or they are not sure how to address the problem with real world alternatives. This article will hopefully help showcase the basic information on the drowning statistics in the state of Florida and highlight how we can assist in reducing our drowning numbers in the most vulnerable population of children between the ages of 1 to 4. 

Drowning should be addressed just like newborns sleeping on their backs to sleep, childhood vaccinations and car seat safety. Drowning is just as deadly and as preventable as these other issues.

Drowning Statistics

Drowning is silent.

  • Drowning is the leading cause of death for children 1-4 years of age in the United States.
  • The percentage of child drowning deaths in public pools with lifeguards on duty is at 19%.
  • Six people drown in pools each day in the United States.
  • Two-thirds of drownings occur between the months of May and August.
  • Per Florida Dept. of Health statistics on drowning in 2019, there have been total of 1,054 drownings and 205 of those involved children.
  • The counties in Florida with some of the highest drowning numbers are Broward, Hillsborough, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Pasco and Pinellas counties. 
  • In 2014, there were about 800 children or 2 per day in the United States that lost their lives to drowning.
  • Age, gender and race are key determining factors in child drowning. Boys are more likely to drown than girls and their number accounts for about 72% of deaths.
  • Florida has the second highest number of total drownings right behind the state of Texas. Florida leads the nation in drowning deaths of children ages 1-4 according to Florida Dept. of Health.
  • There is a rate of 7.54 drownings per 100,000 population in the year of 2013.
  • Up to this point in October 2019, there have been 52 children that have died in the state of Florida from drowning.
  • More American kids die today from drowning than from car accidents.
  • If the child survives a near- drowning, as many as 10% them will suffer permanent brain damage.
  • About 70% of African Americans do not know how to swim. There are about 10 people that die from drowning every single day, but  African American children have a higher chance of drowning than for white and Hispanic children at ages from 5 years through the age of 18. The most vulnerable age due to drowning for African American children is age 10.

Problems in our Community

Local funding of government owned pools is disappearing, causing temporary or permanent closure of these public pools. This in turn reduces the number of low cost swimming lessons available to our community. Money for public pools in local communities are lesseningas local governments are shaving their operating budgets to cover their lost revenue. The list of pools affected are in some of the hottest spots in the nation. These locations are in Central Florida, Atlanta, and Houston. Large expenses like lifeguards, training, and insurance make these facilities very vulnerable when government officials are looking for things to cut in their operating budgets.

Below are some examples of pools affected by these budget constraints:

  1. Palm Bay Aquatic Center located in Palm Bay, FL  has been closed since January 2019 for maintenance(structurual issues, water leaks in pool liner and other areas). This public pool is stilll closed into December 2019.

    Almost one year later and pool is still closed, green and almost empty of water with no repairs completed due to about $560,000 maintenance and update price tag.The pool needs replacement of it’s vinyl liner, and repair of structural leaks as well as updating underwater lighting system along with upgrades to meet ADA requirements for handicapped access. There is a Facebook page titled

    Save The Palm Bay Pool for those that want to join to voice to the public and our local government how much our local pool means to us.              

    UPDATE 12/31/2019     Tentative deadline for repair and reopening of the Palm Bay Aquatic Center. Procurement meeting on 12/16/2019, pre-bid meeting on 01/09/20, bid due date 01/21/20 and all submitted proposals to the city by 01/24/20. Issue purchase order and notice to proceed given by 03/06/2020 and awarded vendor given 145 days to reach partial completion and 165 days to reach final completion of repairs. Final completion expected by 08/14/20 with potential opening date of Labor Day weekend in 2020. By this time the local public pool would have been closed for one and half years and 2 summers of swim lessons lost to the local community.
  2. City of Vero Beach, Florida Leisure Square Pool In July 2019 it was announced that the Vero Beach City Council would close the local City of Vero Beach Leisure Square public pool as of January 2020. The Vero Beach Leisure Square public pool has been threatened to be closed and turned into a skate park.City of Vero Beach mayor Val Zudans stated “ I don’t think we should be in the pool business anymore.” Costs to the city are $194,000 annually to operate the poolt The pool only brings in about $25,000 through programs and admission.The city council threatened to pull funding of the public pool as they stated that the pool is a money drain to its budget. The pool needed more than $115,000 to stay open for next year’s 2020 city budget year. This is the only public pool in Vero Beach, Florida. The pool is a very expensive part of the city recreation budget.

The approximate 450 people that use the pool each week, and also groups like the Vero Beach High School Swim Team, Special Olympics and about 10-15 other swim programs offered each day would not have a facility available to them if this public pool is closed. In September 2019, the city council decided to reinstate the funding to the pool after a lot of outpouring from local community.The supporters of the pool staying open had become public about it in person and on social media. They created a  Facebook page called Save The Leisure Square Pool. They organized a meet and greet at the local Walking Tree Brewery to meet with local candidates from the Vero Beach City Council to fight to protect the pool.

Picketing for public pool in Vero Beach, FL
  • Pasco County, Florida, is one of the counties with the highest drowning rates in Florida. Government officials were able to stop closing of  the public pool in 2010 with the help of a local nonprofit group but in 2011 the money for the pool ran out and it was closed.
  • Houston Texas pubic pool in Independence Heights closed. This is a llow income area where swim lessons would really be helpful.
  • Sacramento, California.  In  2011 only 13 public pools in operation, which was down from 21 pools just four years before.
  • Louisville, Kentucky-All 4 of the outdoor pools were closed in summer 2019 due to city budget constraints.

U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission Pool Safely Campaign stated that one of the best ways to make sure that children do not drown is to enroll children in learn to swim programs. Community pools like those mentioned above are threatened to be closed. These pools provide a public safety service and this is now threatened by local governments to close these facilities due to lack of funding. Our communities must come together to find ways to help fund our local assets to help protect our children against drowning.

Real Examples, Not Just Statistics

  • October 2019 There were two  girls aged 5 & 7 that died  in a pool in Greenacres, Florida. Law enforcement stated that neither of the girls knew how to swim. 
  • 2019-14 yr old unintentional drowning victim in Georgia–lifeguards on duty could not save child as they were not able to swim in deep water or do CPR.
  • 2010–6 black teenagers from 2 families in Louisiana died of drowning while trying to save a friend. All 7 drowned while family watched because they could not swim either.
  • 2019-17 year old high school student in Miami died in a lake while swimming with a group of other teens.
  • 2019-17 yr old and 5 yr old drowned in Palm Beach County in a swimming accident in the deep end of the pool and it appeared neither could swim.
  • 11-20-2019--Merritt Island, Florida A 1-year old girl fell into a canal. The child was found alive and breathing due to some construction workers who rescued her. The construction workers were at home next to the girl’s home when the toddler fell in the canal behind the home.The canal is around 3 or 4 feet deep. They were uncertain how long the girl was under water. The rescuers said she was blue and not breathing when they got they got to the scene.

Solutions to Prevent Drowning

Swim lessons on their own will not prevent drowning. They are part of the solution. Two-thirds of kids who drown are actually excellent swimmers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics(AAP) only recommends and does not require swim lessons for children under age 4. The organization’s stance is–

”a parents decision about starting swimming lessons or water survival skills training at an early age must be individualized on the basis of the child’s frequency of exposure to water, emotional maturity, physical limitations, and health concerns related to swimming pools.”

It is important for parents to know that a child who knows how to swim is not a child who cannot drown. The AAP recommends parents remain within touching distance of their children, that parents have  knowledge of CPR and that parents have barriers around the entire pool.

Use Layers of protection against drowning

  • Educate children and adults about water safety.
  • Supervision, never swim alone.
    • Designate a “Water Watcher” 
  • Barriers around the pool with self closing and self  latching gate or door.
  • Doors and windows should have alarms. 
  • Power operated pool safety covers.
  • Maintain phone nearby to the pool for emergencies.
  • Knowledge of CPR and rescue breathing
  • Maintain life saving equipment at poolside like a life ring and shepherd’s hook.
  • Use proper and approved flotation devices.
    • Remove toys and flotation devices from the pool area when not in use

Please do do not think your children are drown-proof just because they have completed swimming lessons. The Florida Dept. of Health drowning prevention program called WaterSmartFL lists  supervision, barriers and emergency preparedness as the top three ways for adults to try to prevent child drownings.

Provide Scholarships for Swim Lessons Through Donations

Provide scholarships for low income communities to target swim lesson availability. Examples of funding for scholarships for swim lessons through donations:

Step Into Swim through National Swimming Pool Foundation

Money donated is given to various organizations in the U.S. that provide swim lessons to children that cannot afford them. 

www.stepintoswim.org/donate

USA Swimming Foundation Make A Splash 

National child-focused campaign which aims to provide the opportunity to every child in American to learn how to swim.

www.usaswimmingfoundation.org

Swim Strong Foundation

Swim Strong Foundation’s mission is to save and change lives through water safety education and teaching swimming skills. We provide affordable swim programs to STOP the drowning. We guide students from age three through adult towards a healthy lifestyle via exercise, proper nutrition and competitive sports.

https://www.swimstrongfoundation.org/who-we-are/

S.P.U.D.

Students Preventing Unintentional Drowning

Teen WaterSMART Ambassador Club. Students educate the community on water safety while enhancing leadership and character development.

https://fundly.com/s-p-u-d-students-preventing-unintentional-drowning

Team Kareem Memorial Foundation

Team Kareem was developed by Mother, Arkeisha Reese after the tragic death of her son Kareem Angel Green. While attending a field trip, Kareem drowned in a pool. He was left unattended by the staff. Arkeisha, in his memory, developed a program that provides free swimming lessons and related services to children and families.

https://teamkareem.org/

Florida Swims Foundation

The Florida Swims Foundation (Swimming Pool Education and Safety Foundation) funds swimming lessons throughout Florida and the dissemination of safety information and materials. In 2018-19, FSPA’s Foundation awarded $35,000 in scholarships to college students. In 2017 in partnership with local FSPA chapters, provided $27,095 in grants for swimming lessons. FSPA’s 16 Florida chapters collaborate local organizations, such as Safe Kids, Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCAs, to bring important water safety messages and swimming lessons directly to families with young children.  

http://floridapoolpro.portals7.gomembers.com/About/FloridaSwimsFoundation-501(c)(3).aspx

SWIMS Foundation

The SWIMS Foundation is an organization founded in 1999 to promote and support drowning prevention and water safety education across South Florida.  SWIMS stands for Safe Water Instruction Means Safety and our strong belief is that drowning is preventable through awareness, the use of safety precautions, by learning to swim and by learning lifesaving skills.

Our vision is for No More Drownings  in our community, and our mission is to promote and support community-wide efforts to prevent drowning.

https://swimsfoundation.org/about-us/

FLOAT Hope of Indian River County, Florida, Inc.
Float Hope provides the “gift of swimming as a life skill and sport year round” to children in our community. 

https://www.floathopenow.org/

Increasing revenue at Local Public Pools

Funding should be properly allocated for government owned pools in local government budgets. Local governments should find other ways of funding their operational budget and get creative to bring in funds. They could offer a wide range of swim lessons and other aquatic activities. Swim lessons offerings could bring in a lot of revenue, but facility should offer to all age groups. Consider teaming up with local health care facilities to offer therapeutic water activities, like for stroke survivors. Offer water aerobics classes to all ages Offer private lessons through online social media providers and they can pay a fee to use a portion of your facility to provide their private swim lessons.  Add low cost additions to make your pool more exciting for parents and their kids like splash areas, cannons, and bucket games.

Even adding a theme to the area can be helpful to make the area more appealing to the children. Offer food through onsite concessions or even have a food truck night at the public pool. Parents enjoy having food available at the pool for their hungry children. Offer lost cost swim supplies at an onsite store like goggles, swim caps, nose plugs, swim diapers, water bottles and towels for those parents that may have forgotten these supplies at home. Offer party packages for birthdays  that includes games, pizza and birthday cake. Don’t wait to do your maintenance, spread the cost out over many years so as to not impact one year’s particular operating budget.

Fundraising campaign

Case Example: Clinton, Iowa, YWCA launched  the Splash Sponsor Campaign to help raise funds for their public pool. They successfully raised $100,000 last year. The funds raised were  used to purchase a coil for their dehumidification system and other upgrades and repairs to the pool. They state that their only indoor pool is vital to their local community and that “its imperative for them to ensure the sustainability and longevity of this vital community resource.

The success of their fundraising campaign makes it possible for their community to benefit from the pool for many years into the future.  www.ywcaclinton.org/who-we-are/donate

Local governments, local non-profit organizations  or even individuals could use a Go Fund Me Page or something similar to raise funds.

Stand Up for Your Pool

Individuals should stand up and let their local governments know the importance of the public pool is to their community. This can be done through online petitions or even showing up to your local city government council meeting and publicly speak. In October 2019, Lauren Broom of Space Coast Pool School attended the local City of Palm Bay Florida council meeting and spoke for three minutes on the importance of the currently closed public pool to the community.

Legislation to Require Learn to Swim Programs for School Age Children

 
Hawaii

Hawaii is providing free swim lessons through a local nonprofit dedicated to teaching swim safety.This small island state is in close distance to the beaches. It is estimated that half of Hawaii’s kids do not know how to swim. This inability to swim was a marker of poverty among kids, since private swim lessons are financially cut out or is a lower priority in family’s monthly budget.

There is a lot of disparity and inequity in Hawaii. The Ocean Safety Ohana,a local nonprofit group that helps with community partnerships among the Hawaii Dept of Education(DOE) and other schools to introduce swim programs.This is not a mandatory learn to swim program in Hawaii. Years ago the DOE used the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium for mandatory elementary school learn to swim program but the saltwater swimming pool was closed in 1979 due to disrepair and has been closed since that time.

Access to public pools is one of the biggest walls barricading the reach to public school kids with subsidized swim lessons. In 2019,  Hawaii leaders are trying to introduce a mandatory water safety curriculum to help reduce childhood drowning in the state. Local Hawaii Aquatics Association was created in 2017. They are trying to locally close the gap in water safety. They offer swim lessons free of cost to local schools through money raised through private donations and grants. They partner with local schools and offer 5 to 10 week curriculum that has 2 in-classroom sessions and 8 in-pool session that last about 30 minutes each. This program is offered for free to area schools through their Aquatics Academy.Foundation. They work with many children from low economic areas and help with purchase of a bathing suit that the child will get to keep at the end of the swim lessons. In 2017-19 school year the group worked with 500 students. In 2018-19 school year that number of students increased to 1,000.

Florida
Online Petition

Authored by Dr. Bill Kent

Titled Edna Mae McGovern Act “Every Child a Swimmer”

https://www.change.org/p/florida-governor-every-child-a-swimmer

It would require that school entry health examinations include water safety and swimming lesson components. –this means each child shall have an understanding of water safety and have completed swimming lessons.It is not mandated since parents may opt-out of the requirement. Every child should demonstrate basic ability to swim before entering school at the primary level.

Local Florida 2019 Legislation

A local Florida Senator wants to make water safety is a  priority in the public school curriculum

  • SB 608 would require students to learn what to do it caught in rip current, importance of formal swim lessons, the proper use of flotation devices and other skills related to water safety. Water safety lessons would be part of the health education curriculum for students in grades K-12.

The bill was filed in October 2019. It complements HB 325 in the House.If passed the bill would take effect in July 2020.

  • Miami- Dade County Public School Board on November 20, 2019 voted to adopt and implement Water Safety Curriculum & Instruction for students in grades K-12.
  • Florida Senate bill would require Florida homeowners to add more safety features to swimming pools when a homeowner intends on selling their home or when building a new pool.The bill would be effective October 2020. The bill would require at least 2 of 5 approved safety features in place. These safety features include fencing, pool covers, door alarms, gates and motion alarms. 

Sources

  • https://slate.com/human-interest/2017/06/swim-lessons-wont-keep-your-toddler-from-drowning.html
  • https://www.clintonherald.com/news/local_news/splash-sponsors-fund-ywca-pool/article2dd0ef48-oed9-11ea-abad-5bce6bfb0d48.html
  • https://americanpool.com/2015/04/4-ways-to-boost-your-pool-profits/#.XdyPmZNKgdu
  • https://www.palmbaydaily.com/news/local/palm-bay-aquatic-center-closed-for-maintenance-10508/
  • https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-the-leisure-square-pool
  • https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/shaping-our-future/property-values/2019/09/10/leisure-square-swimming-pool-stay-vero-beach-city-budget/2262936001/
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/us/07pools.html
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4151293/
  • https://www.safekids.org/press-release/almost-800-kids-drown-each-year-more-half-are-under-age-5
  • https://www.safekids.org/sites/default/files/dangerous_waters_research_report.pdf
  • https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/11/why-nearly-half-the-kids-in-an-island-state-cant’-swim/
  • https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article237379974.html
  • https://www.fox13news.com/news/senate-bill-would-require-florida-homeowners-to-add-safety-features-to-swimming-pools
  • http://www.ywcaclinton.org/who-we-are/donate
  • https://www.stepintoswim.org/donate
  • https://fundly.com/s-p-u-d-students-preventing-unintentional-drowning
  • https://www.usaswimmingfoundation.org/home/make-a-splash/make-a-splash
  • https://industry.floridapoolpro.com/about/FloridaSwimsFoundation-501(c)(3).aspx
  • https://industry.floridapoolpro.com
  • https://www.change.org/p/florida-governor-every-child-a-swimmer
  • https://www.abc-7.com/story/41224223/florida-bill-wants-to-make-water-safety-mandatory-instruction-in-schools
  • https://www.takepart.com/article/2015/06/29/nothing-funny-70-percent-black-americans-cant-swim/
  • https://ndpa.org/water-safety-steps/
  • https://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/south-florida-parenting/fl-ne-sosf-swim-lessons-drowning-20191105-cygi26bvzng7vk2pi74mlbvlry-story.html
  • https://www.scarymommy.com/child-drowning-risks-message-aap/
  • http://www.flhealthcharts.com
  • https://mdpremier.com/how-do-you-know-when-someone-is-drowning/
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