How to share your backyard pool
In a normal summer, having friends over for a swim is one of the easy joys for people fortunate enough to have a backyard pool. Now, it can feel fraught, even as water lovers everywhere are desperate for aquatic relief with the closing of many public pools. But experts say it is possible to share your oasis safely.
The consensus among infectious-disease experts is that pool water is not inherently risky, especially when the water is treated properly with chlorine or bromine and maintenance is kept up. Health authorities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and epidemiologists all agree that it’s the humans around the pool who pose the biggest threat.
“If the families sharing an outdoor pool aren’t congregating together for long periods of time in and around the pool, it’s probably quite safe,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. “Adults swimming laps while distanced from each other is probably quite safe.”
In general, a backyard pool is probably safer than a public beach, pool or water park, all places where it is harder to control for density and exposure. But Rasmussen cautions that there are still risks, depending on what people are doing outside their households.
In late March, Peter Wohlfeiler and Mary Canning began to share their 16-yard backyard lap pool in Piedmont, California, with a small group of friends. Most are older than 50 and into their 70s, with one 14-year-old club swimmer in the mix.
“We set up a program with scheduling — people text, because we don’t want more than two swimmers in the pool at once,” Wohlfeiler said.
If one group arrives before another has left, they stay 6 feet apart, with masks worn.
Canning says that it has been a joy to share the pool with those who are seeking freedom and relief in the water, including friends who are immune-compromised.
“For a lot of people, swimming has been an enormous part of managing everything right now,” she said.
With children, of course, it gets trickier, depending on the nature of play and how much contact they have with one another.
“I’d encourage people in this situation to discuss risk-mitigation measures and consider ways to minimize cross-household exposures while using the pool,” Rasmussen said. “I wouldn’t want my kids playing with kids from a family who was going out in public all the time without masks and generally disregarding precautions for COVID.”
In other words, clear communication is key. But if you share your pool right, you can lend some much-needed joy and solace to your immediate community.
“It was life-changing on a hot day,” said Christina Amini, whose family of two adults and two children was recently invited to share a friend’s backyard pool. “Just the relief of water and being refreshed after heat, home school and intense weeks — it was amazing.”