Germs and Ilnesses
- Cryptosporidium, or Crypto: An extremely chlorine-tolerant parasite that can survive in a properly chlorinated pool for 3.5–10.6 days. Of 49 recreational water–associated outbreaks of gastroenteritis treated during 2009-2010, 55% were caused by Crypto.
- Giardia: One of the leading causes of waterborne disease, or disease caused by contaminated drinking water and recreational water. Found in fecal matter, it is a germ that causes diarrhea. It has a tough outer shell that allows it to survive for up to 45 minutes even in properly chlorinated pools.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
HOW WE GOT THE STORY:
With summer on the horizon, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution filed open records requests and obtained pool inspection records from six metro-Atlanta counties.
The newspaper analyzed tens of thousands of inspection records to determine which pools had been closed or recorded other violations that could place the public health at risk. Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Clayton counties provided data sought by the AJC allowing the newspaper to calculate closure rates. Cobb and Douglas counties - which share a health department - could not provide electronic data that showed whether a pool had been closed. Instead, their records listed grades for each inspection category without an overall grade to judge the pool. As a result, the AJC did not include Cobb and Douglas’ pools in it’s overall calculation.
Summer is nearly here and the temperature is rising; time to beat the heat with a dip in your local pool.
But swimmers beware. Before you dive in, check to make sure your pool isn’t going to make you sick.
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of county records in metro Atlanta found that about one out of every six inspections of swimming pools and spas resulted in a closure. The data covered more than 15,000 inspections over the past 2 1/2 years.
» Check pool inspections database here
Some pools have flunked repeatedly, records show, yet they continue to operate.
This year alone, more than 100 swimming pools and spas in metro Atlanta have already failed inspections for violations that put bathers at risk of contracting a waterborne disease, according to an AJC review.
The violators in recent years range from community recreational pools to spas at upscale local hotels, like the Westin hotel in Buckhead. Popular draws for kids have been shut down, such as the spray pool at the Mall of Georgia. So have health clubs. Pools and spas at multiple LA Fitness locations have been shuttered temporarily by county inspectors.
The AJC received data on pool inspections through open records requests filed with counties. The AJC built a searchable database of pools in metro Atlanta that can be found on our website myAJC.com.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, nationally, about one in eight inspections lead to a pool closure, or 12.5 percent.
In some metro-Atlanta area counties, the rate is higher. In Fulton County, more than 20 percent of inspections in both 2013 and 2014 was unsatisfactory or the pool was closed, the AJC found. In DeKalb County, the rate was 18 percent in 2013 and 17 percent in 2014.
Pools in Gwinnett County performed better, with roughly 10 percent of inspections leading to a closure. In Clayton County, the results varied greatly. About five percent of the county's pools were closed in 2014 but so far this year that has jumped to 26 percent.
Cobb County could not provide data showing pool closure statistics. Officials there said they are updating their way of storing data on inspections to be able to provide that information.
Michael Beach, associate director for healthy water at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said concerned swimmers should purchase pool testing strips or kits to check the water, especially at an unfamiliar pool.
"If you are concerned, that is the best way to protect yourself," Beach said. "No one wants to come away from a fun trip to the pool with a rash or diarrhea."
Frogs and a dead rabbit
County health officials inspect pools and spas run by recreation centers, apartments, condos, neighborhood associations, hotels and gyms. For seasonal pools, the state requires one inspection prior to the pool opening and at least one other surprise inspection during pool season. Year-round pools must undergo three unannounced inspections.
Chris Rustin, director of the state Department of Health’s environmental health section, said inspectors are looking for health and safety risks. They will perform a water chemical analysis, see if filters and pumps are operating properly, make sure the deck is in good repair and check that there is adequate lighting and a child-proof, latching gate.
Many pools are cited or closed for chemistry violations. Proper chlorine and pH levels guard swimmers from many infections caused by bacteria and parasites. Some metro Atlanta pools lacked any chlorine at all, records show. Others were green with algae or the water was so murky the bottom of the pool wasn’t visible.
There were also a few examples of more extreme neglect.
“Water cloudy and had frogs in it,” wrote an inspector in May 2011 referring to the Belcourt Outdoor Pool in Roswell.
In Alpharetta, an inspector discovered a dead rabbit in the skimmer at the Morningside at the Park Outdoor Pool on Morton Road.
At the Harriett G. Darnell Senior Multipurpose Facility on Fairburn Road in Atlanta, the inspector said the pool should be drained and refilled with fresh water after detecting a “slight film of skin from patrons.” The inspector blamed “not great filtering.”
Nonetheless, all three pools received satisfactory ratings from inspectors.
Complaints filed with Fulton County health inspectors and obtained by the AJC show reason for swimmers to worry. They ranged from the potentially dangerous to downright gross.
Last year, a cheerleading team that swam at the indoor pool at the Atlanta Airport Marriott Hotel reported chemical burns. A county inspector who followed up detected no problems that would have caused rash or burns.
At the YMCA’s Carl E. Sanders outdoor pool on Moore’s Mill Road, there was a complaint that a “swimmer blew his nose in the pool on purpose from each nostril.” At the Lenox Oaks Outdoor pool, residents reportedly allowed their dogs in the pools. At the Chelsea Ridge Apartments pool in Johns Creek, bathers reported roaches floating in the water.
Only serious violations can result in a pool or spa being closed.
“Usually the fixes are pretty simple,” said Chris Hutcheson, director of the Center for Environmental Health for Cobb and Douglas counties. Sometimes an inspector can return later the same day and clear the pool to reopen, he said.
That was the case at the Mall of Georgia spray pool. Officials there say the Gwinnett County attraction was closed last August because of chlorine problems but after some adjustments it was back in business several hours later.
Oftentimes pools will close down voluntarily - without a county inspection - if they detect a problem on their own.
Repeat offenders can signal a systemic problem, said Alan Haines, manager of DeKalb County Environmental Health.
Records show the Kerwin B. Lee Family Life Center men’s spa in DeKalb has been shut down nine times since 2013 and the women’s spa seven times.
In Gwinnett County, records show two apartment complex facilities failed five times each - Overlook at Berkeley Lake Apartments spa and Estates at Crossroads Apartments.
The pool at Annanndale Village, a Suwanee community for people with intellectual disabilities and traumatic brain injury, also notched five closures.
Annandale chief executive officer Adam Pomeranz said their pool was dinged for relatively minor offenses - a pH level that was a hair outside the acceptable range and failure to post a sign saying the facility had a certified pool operator. Nonetheless, he said he couldn’t quibble with the health department’s standards since he wants residents to be safe.
“You have to draw the line somewhere,” he said.
Waterborne disease
By far the biggest health hazard for swimmers is fecal matter in the pool. The CDC recommends swimmers avoid the pool if they have diarrhea.
Giarda is one waterborne germ spread through exposure to fecal material. It causes diarrhea. Another is cryptosporidiosis - or crypto - a single-celled parasite found in the intestines of infected humans and animals. Spread by fecal matter, crypto is resistant to chlorine and can live for days even in treated water. Swimmers who ingest contaminated water can suffer from diarrhea that may last for up to two weeks.
State health officials know of two outbreaks of cryptosporidosis last year linked to pools and water parks. One originated at a splash pad at a municipal park in Athens and another at a private swim club pool in DeKalb County. Sixty-three people were sickened in DeKalb and lab tests confirmed 12 of those to be cryptospridoisusm, state health department officials said.
But experts believe many infections go unreported. Those who fall ill typically have gastrointestinal problems and are quick to blame something they ate, rather than looking to their local pool.
While crypto is resistant to normal chlorine levels, it can be treated through hyperchlorination or light treatment.
Experts say some of the safest pools and water recreation sites are also often the busiest. Violators are often apartment and condo complex pools where the individual in charge of the pool has lots of other duties.
On the other hand, Georgia’s sprawling water parks, for instance, rarely flunk inspections.
"They have a lot more people coming through but they are also hiring the best of the best," Beach said. "The stakes are high for them."
About the Author
