Poop in the Pool [1]
2 oz chilled Blue Curacao liqueur
1 small tootsie roll candy
Pour the Curacao into a shot glass and drop in a Tootsie Roll.
I think it's more authentic in an on-the-rocks glass. But hey -- I'm a certified aquatic exercise instructor, not a bartender. What do I know? Other than the fact that nothing ends summer fun like (real) poop in the (real) pool! I've experienced it [2]. And we've heard about it from people who have done it [3]. Today, I'm here to teach you what to do if it happens to you.
First and foremost, when poop happens: EVERYBODY OUT OF THE POOL!
Next, know that a solid log poses less threat than a liquid blast. Fish out a floater (or sinker) ASAP, taking extreme care to not break it apart. Then (duh!) dump it in a toilet. Then soak whatever you used to grab it (net, towel, your hand) in Clorox for, like, forever. Or throw it out. Never vacuum poop from the pool because the vacuum will re-contaminate the pool whenever it is used in the future.
Diarrhea in the pool is a different matter. And it poses waaay more of a health hazard. We're talking about potential transmission of Cryptosporidium, Giardia, E-coli, and Shigella. The US Centers for Disease Control has a whole website about it. They call it: Fecal Accident Response Recommendations for Aquatics Staff [4].
Diseases caused by poop in the pool are classified as Recreational Water Illnesses (RWIs). RWIs are spread by accidentally swallowing pool water that has been contaminated with poop-related germs.
The good news is that germs causing RWIs are killed by chlorine.
However, chlorine doesn't work on them right away. It takes time to kill them. In some cases, it may take seven days before the pool is safe for swimming! If poop happens in your pool, carefully follow the CDC's charts. In short form, chlorinated pool water kills disease-causing organisms at the following speeds:
E-Coli Bacteria: Less than one minute
There are variables that depend on the amount of chlorine, the size of pool, parts per million, and so on. But to be on the safest side, in case ol' Crypto is present, the pool has to be closed and chlorinated for a week. (Kryptonite could kill Superman, so I guess the two are related.)
However, the CDC offers some conflicting information. In the aftermath of what it calls "Formed Stool in the Pool," it instructs you
to:
In the aftermath of a diarrheal incident, though:
First the CDC prescribes that a pool might have to be closed for a week, and then it tells you how to re-open it via superchlorination in twenty-five or thirty minutes? Scary, huh? Reminds me of EPA after 9/11: "The air at Ground Zero is fresh and pure and healthy! No worries, rescue workers!"
So, isocyanurates shmarunates. Where I work, a week's closure is the rule. We don't trust Washington!
The CDC also recommends backwashing the filter thoroughly post-poop filtration. "Be sure," they say, "the effluent is discharged directly to waste. {...} Where appropriate, replace the filter media." "WHERE APPROPRIATE"?!? Poop just ran through it!
In my many years working in aquatic facilities, I've never seen an adult poop in the pool. I have, however, seen a child release a huge floating log. And that pool subsequently banned both parent and child and then closed down for super-chlorination for a week.
I did recently hear a horrible tale from an aquatic trainer colleague. "This senior I train," she told me. "Her husband gave her Milk of Magnesia. Well, they never told me. And then all of a sudden I saw this brown cloud blast out of her bathing suit. And I screamed and told her to get out of the pool NOW. The poop was dripping down her legs, all over the ladder." That pool was closed for a week, too.
A week closure is the right thing to do, in my opinion. Remember --- *I* have to go in those pools with my clients! Any pool that's closed less than a week, I will quit that job!
But here's an interesting note. I quote the CDC:
So maybe poop is less germy than we think. But it begs a more interesting and entertaining question: why haven't we heard from those volunteers about their, um, collection responsibilities? There are three hundred poop reports waiting to be reported! After all, the CDC recommends keeping a Fecal Accident Log. *chuckle*
Most of these regulations apply to full-sized swimming pools. If poop happens in a kiddie pool with no filter, here's what to do: drain the pool. Period.
If you have kids, you may have one of those kiddie swim diapers [5]. But according to this site [6], the kiddie swim diapers "do NOTHING to make the pool safer! Kimberly-Clark's marketing of these items skirts the issue, but never actually makes any claim of improved safety. The ONLY garment that offers some protection to other pool users is some type of waterproof pants over the diaper. But, quite honestly, fecally-incontinent individuals -- of any age, sex, mental capability, etc -- should not be sharing a pool with other people."
So, if you believe that site, you should keep your non-toilet trained kid out of all pools --- even kiddie pools.
Poop in the pool is funny -- everyone remembers that scene in Caddyshack [7] -- but it's also serious. So if poop happens to you, do the right thing. Check the CDC's site, but also contact a licensed pool operator in your area who knows his/her stuff. You have a responsibility to make sure no one gets sick.
Here's hoping the only poop in your pool is that little Tootsie Roll in your cocktail. Enjoy a happy and Recreational Water Illness-free summer!
Hepatitis A Virus: 16 minutes
Giardia Parasite: 45 minutes
Cryptosporidium Parasite: 6.7 days
"...raise the chlorine to 2 ppm (if less than 2 ppm), and ensure the pH is between 7.2 - 7.5. This chlorine concentration was selected to keep the pool closure time to approximately 30 minutes."
"...maintain the chlorine concentration at 2.0 ppm, pH 7.2 - 7.5, for at least 25 minutes before reopening the pool. State or local regulators may require higher chlorine levels in the presence of chlorine stabilizers such as chlorinated isocyanurates."
"In 1999, pool staff volunteers from across the country collected almost 300 samples from fecal accidents that occurred at waterparks and pools. CDC then tested them for Crypto and Giardia. None of the sampled fecal accidents tested positive for Crypto but Giardia was found in 4.4% of the samples collected.