POOL DRAINING
You’ve spent the summer barbecuing, swimming, and experiencing Ohio’s abundant natural resources. Now, it’s time to pack up the last picnic, send the kids off to school, and close the backyard pool. Pool owners should know that draining pool water directly to the storm sewer can harm local creeks, rivers, and lakes, as well as the fish and wildlife that live in them. Draining pool water into storm drains allows chlorine, bromine, copper, and salt to run directly into ditches and streams without being treated.
Sustainable Pool Care
Your old pool water is best disposed of by pumping it into a sink or drain inside your home or business. This will allow the water to be treated before entering natural bodies of water such as Lake Erie. In most cases, the sewer rate is based on water use when you fill the pool, so you will not be charged an additional fee.
If your only option is to drain pool water to a storm sewer, use the steps below to make sure your end-of-season pool maintenance does not harm our local waterways.
Remember, these steps only apply to a chlorinated pool, NOT a saltwater pool.
Preparing to Drain Your Pool
If your only option is to drain pool water to a storm sewer, use the steps below to make sure that your seasonal pool maintenance does not harm our local waterways.
Step 1: Rest water. Let water sit for two weeks after the last chemical treatment to allow chlorine to break down and leave the water. Allow suspended solids to settle out of the water by keeping swimmers out of the pool for one week prior to draining. The water should not appear murky once suspended solids are settled out. Skim all leaves and algae from the surface.
Step 2: Test water. Before draining, water should be near neutral (pH 6.5-8.5) and free of chlorine, bromine, and algaecides before discharging. Test kits are available at pool supply stores.
Step 3: Use water for irrigation. As much as you can, allow water to infiltrate through grass, gardens, or other permeable surfaces. You can use a hose to evenly distribute and direct water. Stop draining when lawn and vegetation are saturated, and water begins to pond. Do not allow water to drain onto your neighbor’s property.
Step 4: Drain the remaining water. After saturating grass and other vegetation, the remaining dechlorinated pool water can be drained directly to the storm drain. To prevent soil erosion, make sure that water does not flow over bare soil. Only clear water should be flowing into storm drain. Settled solid materials should be properly disposed of in regular trash or compost and should not be discharged with pool water.
Saltwater Pool Draining
While it is possible to drain a chlorinated into your yard after the chlorine has had a chance to evaporate, this is not true for saltwater pools. Increasingly common, saltwater pools use salt as the main form of maintenance to keep the pool clean. Although called saltwater pools, these systems are usually only 10 percent of the salinity of ocean water.
When it comes time to draining these pools at the end of the summer, no amount of time will remove salt from the water. If you maintain a saltwater pool, the water must be pumped into a drain inside your home or business so that it can be treated. If this is not feasible, you should contact a licensed water hauler to drain your pool.