Cl > 15, FCl > 15, CYA = 150, Total Alkalinity = 9, pH = 7.6 - is this water safe?

[flimpy]

Cl > 15, FCl > 15, CYA = 150, Total Alkalinity = 9, pH = 7.6 - is this water safe?

Hello,

I decided to test the water I have in my 20k gal fresh water pool (pool company maintains my pool chemistry) and I was shocked by the chlorine levels been off the chart. The test was done by the pool shop via BioGuard tester.
Chlorine levels are higher than 15 (15 is just a maximum that pool store can measure).

I read online that high concentration of CYA allows to:
a) keep chlorine for longer in the water
b) reduces effectiveness of the chlorine and therefore requires maintaining higher chlorine concentration

However, I do not understand how this affects the safety side of the matter. I have a 6 month old who I was hoping to get in water with, but now I am concerned about the safety aspect (of exposure to the chemical in water) and not sure if it is even OK for an adult to swim in this kind of water.

Could you please share your thoughts on whether this water can be considered safe for swimming (for adults and for infants)?

What would you do if you had your pool water in this shape (e.g.: keep using it; dump and dilute; change the pool company, e.t.c.).

Thank you

 

[pooldv]

Re: Cl > 15, FCl > 15, CYA = 150, Total Alkalinity = 9, pH = 7.6 - is this water safe

Welcome to TFP!

It is safe to swim when:
FC is above minimum and up to shock level for your CYA, [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]
Ph is between 7.2 and 7.8
The water is clear and you can see the bottom

With small children person to person disease transmission is of primary importance. FC must be above minimum for your CYA in order to have adequate kill rates for bacteria, viruses and other pathogens.

With CYA at 150, your minimum FC level is 12 ppm and it is safe to swim with FC up to 59 ppm.

I would drain half the pool to get CYA around 70-80.

Order an FAS/DPD chlorine test from TFTestkits.net, it can measure FC up to 50 ppm.