Emergency Routes
Keep open and free from obstacles. Emergency routes are gates on Paul Spring Road side of pool, gates adjacent to grills in the pavilion and areas around pool stairs and ladders.
Keeping these emergency pathways open are essential for the manager and guards to respond quickly to medical and other emergencies.
Bodily Discharge
Evidence of vomit, body waste or other bodily discharge will result in evacuation of the pool and closure for as long as 9 hours to raise the chlorine levels to 20 ppm to ensure the event is contained and neutralized. The 20 ppm is necessary because viruses and bacteria are resistant to standard levels of chlorine.
If the discharge event happens after 11 am, the pool will be closed for the day.
This policy is in the best interest of members. The HH Pool is a more conservative approach than some other area pools because there is no way to determine whether an event is an accident or a medical issue involving bacteria or viruses. The latter can involve serious, in some cases even lethal, consequences for swimmers.
Accordingly our management assumes the worst case scenario, Cryptosporidiosis. The relevant Fairfax County Code:
(a) Clear the pool.
(b) Immediately notify the Director of the occurrence.
(c) Remove as much of the contaminating material as possible from the pool water. Vacuuming is not recommended unless it discharges directly to waste.
(d) Raise pool disinfectant level to a minimum of 20 parts per million and adjust pH to a level of 7.5 or less for a minimum of nine hours.
(e) Patrons are prohibited from entering the pool during this time period.
(f) Achieve acceptable disinfectant residuals and chemical balance as specified in the § 69.1-3-13 Table III prior to allowing patrons to enter the pool.
The playground and pavilion area will remain open in the event of a bodily discharge event.
Inclement Weather
In the event of thunder, members must leave the water and the pool deck for thirty minutes after thunder is last heard and until the guard signals it is safe to re-enter.
The playground and pavilion area may be closed for Inclement weather if lightning and thunder persist.
