5 Tips to Reopen your Pools safely during Pandemic

Pools are reopening and pool owners are buckling up to provide public access to their facilities in the safest way possible. The goal is to provide summer fun without the exposure to and spread of Covid-19. Public pools across the States are conforming to the directions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) on operating and managing public pools and other aquatic venues during the pandemic.

5 tips to reopen pools safely:

1. Clean. Disinfect. Repeat

Pools should maintain ideal water quality by regular chlorination with proper pH balance as viruses and other pathogens become inactive in properly chlorinated water. Other water features like hot tubs and drinking fountains should go through a proper disinfection as well. Owners should make sure enough cleaning and disinfection is done in the pool surfaces with maximum chances of infection like pool ladders, pool noodles, lounge chairs, umbrellas, table tops, handles, showers, lockers, changing rooms, etc. 

2. Use Technology for smoother operations

Using Omnify online reservation system is a smart move for pool owners to organize bookings and systematize schedules to control all aspects of registration. Omnify user-friendly and low-cost system administrator facilitates pool owners to help face challenges at normal times and during Covid. Omnify features allows ‘limiting access to members-only’ that enables owners to control maximum occupancy at a given slot and earn the faith of permanent pool patrons, block preferred time slots for managing crowd or allowing disinfecting process and much more.

3. Social Distancing

‍CDC guidelines for physical distancing calls for keeping at least six feet of safe space between two individuals. To facilitate this, the pool owners should modify the pool area layout by rearranging lounge chairs six feet apart, provide lane lines in the water, line control barriers in entry and exit areas and visual cues like tapes on decks, floors, sitting areas, etc.

4. Form special Covid team

‍Pool owners should separately form a team consisting of staff members that solely monitor Covid concerns. This team would be responsible for temperature checks of patrons and fellow staff members, strict monitoring of people to wear masks once out of water, identify Covid-19 symptoms of patrons and staff and prohibit entry accordingly, arrange contactless ways of patron check-ins.

5. Put up information boards

Give a sign! Make people know that your pool facility prioritizes patrons’ safety. Put up sign boards about just everything- “Pool is Open- Your safety matters”, “Put on your face masks”, “Maintain Social Distance”, “Sanitize and Repeat”, “No Mask No Entry” etc. An extra effort on your part makes your patrons feel secured in your facility and they feel obligated to follow the new norms.

Omnify has already partnered with 600+ pool companies including The Pool Management Group, American Pool , Eichler’s Cove Beach and Treadwell Pool to name a few. Recently, Swimming World magazine mentioned Omnify in its column on Pool safety during Covid-19 pandemic. 

If you are a pool owner, learn how Omnify can help you reopen your pool facilities. Sign up or Schedule a Demo with Omnify.

Read: How Trident Swim and Tennis Club opened pools safely for summer 2020!