Town Of Mansfield Issues Pool Algae Update

Press release from the Town of Mansfield:

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Dear Members and Guests,

As you may be aware, we continue to address the challenges we are experiencing with algae in the main swimming pool. During this time, we have been in close communication with Eastern Highlands Health District (EHHD) as well as our external pool contractors to ensure your safety as we look to take care of the issue. Please know that we closely monitor water chemistry throughout the day to ensure that our pool water is within acceptable state health code standards. However, we understand the algae is visible in some areas of the pool and may raise concerns and questions. Therefore, we are providing a brief summary of the situation as we continue to research and evaluate the next steps to further resolve the situation.

Brief Summary of Main Pool Algae Issues

October 4th – Learned of algae in the main pool and closed the main pool. Our primary pool contractor was contacted and upon their guidance we super chlorinated the pool for 24 hours, rebalanced water, and re-opened the pool 10/6/at 1pm to public for swimming.

October 23- The main pool closed on 10/24/Re-opened 10/25 at 4:30 pm– Pool contractors hired by the Town of Mansfield completed scrubbing, disinfecting, and removing algae from the surge tank located on the far side of the pool deck not accessible to the public and sealed with an access door. The pool water was super chlorinated, recirculated, and reopened to the public after proper water circulation/turnover and acceptable pool water chemistry was reached. At the time of reopening, there was no visible algae in the surge tank or either pools, and the situation appeared to be resolved. The therapy pool was closed during this period out of an abundance of caution and so that work could be completed.

November 3 – Algae was visible from a few areas of the main pool that previously had not been an issue/visible to us. Once we learned of the situation, staff were again in contact with our pool contractor and other professional resources to help determine causes and next steps to fully alleviate the issue. Staff has also been in communication with EHHD staff to ensure that we are maintaining acceptable pool water health codes. Should there be a need to close the pool, we would do so without hesitation to ensure the safety of the public and staff.

We have since increased pool water testing and slightly raised the levels of pool chemicals within the approved scale. We also continue to monitor the situation as we access the most practical steps to remedy the problem. Solutions can range from short-term shutdown of the main pool (24 hours) to longer-term temporary closure of one or more pools in the near future. At this time, we have been reassured by EHHD and our pool contractor that as long as the pool water chemistry continues to test within acceptable state code ranges, there is no immediate need to close the pool.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work tirelessly through these challenges to provide you with a more pleasurable swimming experience.

Mansfield Parks & Recreation Staff

This press release was produced by the Town of Mansfield. The views expressed here are the author’s own.