Linn County first in Iowa to put swimming pool inspections online

Before you swish down a water slide or dive into the deep end, you want to know the swimming pool is safe and clean. Right?

This week, Linn County launched a new online database of swimming pool inspections, so you can research all 70 public swimming facilities — including those at hotels, health clubs and public high schools — before you put on your suit.

'By putting it online and making it easily available to the public, they can use it to make decisions about their health,' said Heidi Peck, environmental quality supervisor for Linn County Public Health.

Most swimming pools, hot tubs, wading pools and water slides are required to be licensed in Iowa. Excluded are residential pools and hot tubs, pools overseen by medical personnel and pools owned by homeowners' groups that assume liability.

See also: List of Corridor pools opening this weekend

Licensed pools and hot tubs are to undergo one routine inspection a year. State or county inspectors check the water chemistry, records, maintenance protocols, structure and emergency procedures. Violations that trigger closure include out-of-balance chemicals, presence of coliform bacteria, extremely cloudy water, broken or missing equipment on fully-submerged outlets or hot tub temperatures over 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

For some violations — such as coliform — inspectors must verify the problem has been fixed before a pool or hot tub can reopen. In other cases, pool operators are charged with making changes.

Corridor pool closures

Inspectors temporarily closed 11 Linn County pools and hot tubs last year, in most cases because the water bodies didn't have enough chlorine, a review of the online database shows. Chlorine and other disinfectants kill bacteria and parasites that can cause gastrointestinal diseases like norovirus, giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis, as well as rashes and ear infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pools or hot tubs temporarily closed last year were at Bowman Woods Swim & Racquet Club, Cedar Rapids Marriott, Cedar Rapids Residence Inn, Clarion Hotel, Collins Inn and Suites, the Hampton Inn & Suites at 1130 Park Place NE, Keystone Place, Stoney Point YMCA, Wildwood Apartments and YMCA Camp Wapsie.

The outdoor pool at Camp Wapsie, in Coggon, was closed Aug. 6 after a Linn County inspector found low readings of oxidation-reduction potential, which can indicate low sanitizer effectiveness, the inspection report notes. Camp Director Paul Denowski said the closure was just a few hours.

'We do our tests several times a day,' he said. 'If anything is out of whack, we pause before we put the kids in.'

Cedar Rapids pools with zero violations in their 2015 and 2016 inspections include AmericInn Lodge & Suites, Baymont Inn & Suites, Bender Pool, Best Western Cooper's Mill, Bever Pool, Cedar Rapids Country Club, Economy Inn & Suites, Ellis Pool, Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Hometown Inn & Suites, Parkridge Condominiums and Red Roof Inn Cedar Rapids.

Linn County inspects about 120 license holders, Peck said. Some facilities have more than one license for pools, hot tubs and water slides.

'We have many pools and spas that take their responsibility very seriously,' Peck said.

National pool review

The CDC released a report last week saying one in eight inspections of public pools, hot tubs or water slides in five states resulted in immediate closure because of serious health and safety violations.

The agency reviewed 84,187 routine inspections of 48,632 public aquatic venues in five states — Arizona, California, Florida, New York and Texas — with the most public pools and hot tubs.

Nearly 80 percent of inspections found at least one violation and one in five kiddie/wading pools were closed because of serious problems.

Linn first to put inspections online

Linn County is the first Iowa county to put swimming pool inspections online, public health officials said. The Iowa Department of Public Health hopes to have an online database next spring.

Linn County was also a leader in posting restaurant inspections, with a county database going online four years before the statewide database in 2005.

In the past, swimmers who wanted to see a pool inspection report had to visit the health department or request it be sent by email, Peck said. Pools also are required to make their inspection file available to the public.

Linn County Municipal Pools

A Gazette review of the 2015 inspection reports on fire for Linn County's municipal pools showed no closures, but a few pools had violations. Pools are typically responsible for fixing problems noted in their annual inspections. (Source: Linn County Public Health Department)

Pool

Last inspected

Violations

Description

 

Bender Pool (indoor)

1/8/2015

 

Year round

Bever Pool

6/16/2015

 

June 2

Cherry Hill Aquatic Center

6/29/2015

2

Loose handrail, missing drain corner, missing edge in zero-depth, sharp concrete edge, missing handrail

June 2

Ellis Pool

7/20/2015

 

June 2

Jones Pool

6/25/2015

1

Cracked drain cover

June 2

Linn-Mar Aquatic Center (indoor)

12/11/2015

1

Loose ladder handrail

Year round

Marion Municipal Pool

6/23/2015

5

Monthly bio test not done in May 2015, GFI test not recorded, incomplete log sheets, fence has gap, two ladders loose

Monday

Mount Vernon Swim Pool

6/24/2015

1

Several ladders loose

Saturday

Noelridge Pool

6/29/2015

4

Waterslide rules not posted, loose ladders, stairs to drop slide don't have slip-resistant coating, locker rooms need soap in showers

Saturday

The swimming pool inspection database allows users to search for pools by name or scroll through an alphabetical list. There also is a map in case you know where the pool is, but don't know its name or address. The website includes definitions to help viewers interpret inspection reports.

'The most helpful way to look at the inspection is to read the narrative,' Peck said. There, violations are spelled out and viewers can decide whether the problems are major enough to bypass the pool.

Inspections are labeled as 'routine,' 'follow-up' or 'complaint/special.' Corrective action plans submitted by pool operators are not linked to the database now, but may be in the future, Peck said.

A 2012 Gazette investigation showed several Corridor pools had multiple closures in two years of inspections and some pool operators did not make improvements, year to year, despite promises to do so.

The new database allows users to go back to multiple years' worth of inspections to see if pools corrected violations.