Treatment to tackle pool smell
A new water treatment system is set to be trialled at Richmond Aquatic Centre that may help reduce the smell of chlorine in the popular pool complex.
Tasman District Council community partnerships co-ordinator Mike Tasman-Jones said the two-month trial, due to start today, was also expected to result in clearer, softer water.
A report for a community development committee meeting today says the council has received complaints about the chlorine smell and skin irritations since the centre opened in 2004.
Council and aquatic centre staff had decided to conduct a trial of an Austrian-developed system called Wapotec in the lane pool.
Tasman-Jones said said the system would allow the aquatic centre to more than halve the amount of chlorine used in the lane pool. Wapotec had already been introduced at the Bays Aquatic Centre in Auckland.
‘‘The environment at the Bays Aquatic Centre is described as having very little chlorine odour,’’ TasmanJones said.
‘‘They say the water is very clear and has a silky-soft feel.
‘‘We were originally considering an ultra-violet treatment system but Wapotec has reported better results, is cheaper to install and has comparable running costs.’’
The trial would allow an assessment of whether ‘‘the results are as good as we would hope’’.
‘‘We expect to see a significant improvement in water quality and a big reduction in odour-causing chloramines in the lane pool,’’ TasmanJones said.
However, the report says the chloramine levels in the whole centre will not reduce much until the other main pools have an alternative treatment system. If the lane pool trial is successful, the council will consider rolling out the Wapotec treatment to the other pools.