12 July 2003

A week or two ago, Susan brought a sample of our swimming pool water to the pool supply store for testing. We had been having a little trouble with foaming and a rather quick build-up of algae on the walls. The guy at the pool store analyzed our water for various parameters and, after he recovered from his state of shock, recommended that we drain our pool and fill it with a fresh batch of water. Apparently, it had built up a high enough alkalinity (concentration of ions) that any efforts we could make to keep a high enough chlorine level to sufficiently disinfect the water would be wasted.

We were able to borrow a pump from the store for free and drained the 17,000-gallons within about 10 hours. Here, Susan and Bailey enjoy the new play area as the water trickles back in through the garden hose. Susan and the kids report that the water's fine now.

DWL