Drought Has Potential to Cause Swimming Pool Accidents
Everyone knows that hot weather is an essential component of a good trip to the pool. No one wants to go swimming in cold damp weather. But hot weather, especially the dry hot weather Texas is currently experiencing, can be bad too. When the weather is too hot swimmers who do not take proper precautions can suffer from injuries ranging from sunburns to heat stroke. Right now, as a result of the prolonged drought, people are not the only thing being negatively by the weather. Pools are also suffering from the consequences of the hot dry weather. Unfortunately, damage to pools does not always stop with property damage. Texas swimming pool accidents can be an unfortunate but natural consequence as well.
As NBC recently reported, the intense dry, hot weather currently afflicting the state is wreaking havoc on swimming pools throughout the state. As a result of the weather, soil, especially the clay soil found in North Texas, is shrinking. This shrinking causes the concrete around a swimming pool to shift. As one couple experienced, a small gap above ground can be a sign of major problems below the ground.
When concrete shrinks, it puts pressure on the pipes that bring water in and out of a pool. This can lead to cracked pipes and thousands of dollars of damage. Sadly, the drought is not the only thing that can harm pipes. When it finally rains, the ground will expand again, putting pressure on different areas of the ground and pipes. This can cause damage to areas that had been previously spared.
As a consequence of the potential for double damage to swimming pools and pipes, many home owners are waiting to repair damage. From an economic perspective, it makes sense to wait for all the damage to be over before making costly repairs. But for swimmers, this can be dangerous, leading to Texas pool accidents. Cracks in pipes, in addition to increasing the water bill, can result in less water in a pool. Unless the pool water is carefully monitored, a pool owner who just adds the daily dose of chemical to his pool can add too many chemicals to not enough water. This can lead to situations that are bad for swimmers, exposing them to too much chlorine or leading to murky water conditions that make it hard for others to see and effectively rescue in the event of a potential drowning.
Even outside the pool, shifting ground can be hazardous for swimmers. Above ground pools in particular may shift along with the ground. In an extreme event, a deck might collapse, causing anyone using the deck to fall along with it.
The event, while unfortunate, was luckily not deadly. But it was not altogether unexpected. During a previous health inspection, officials noted that chemicals were being improperly stored. When the wrong chemicals were added to the pool, sulfur dioxide was released into the air. The health and fitness club was required to pay more than a fine as a result of the accident. 
KSL News reported yesterday on a strange 
Proper chemical usage in swimming pools equals safe water clarity conditions. If a pool is not being maintained in accordance with proper chlorine levels water clarity will deviate from being safe. Furthermore, the use of chemicals prevents dangerous bacteria from developing in the pool water that can make pool users sick. The pool staff who operate a public pool must be properly trained on how to treat pools using the proper pool chemicals and levels. Too little or too many chemicals can cause cloudy water pools which create murky water pools. The pool test kit shown in the photo is an example of a pool test kit that allows operators of pools to check chemical levels in a pool. Every pool should have a functional pool chemical testing kit to allow for operators to ensure that pool chemical levels are safe to pool users.
