Water Conservation

With the increase in the severity of our climate and the decline in water quality at many natural traditional swimming spots the privately owned, maintained and well supervised pool is proving to be the cleanest, safest place to swim. Each year countless thousands of children learn to swim and practice their healthy outdoor activities in the family pool.

According to the Swimming Pool and Spa Association of NSW the average Australian household uses 240KL (240,000 litres) of water each year. The initial filing of an average suburban pool needs about 50KL (50,000 litres). From then on, water is used in filter backwashing, evaporating and splash out averages 23 litres a day, totalling 8,395 litres a year. This represents 3.5% of an average household water use. By comparison other domestic uses of water are as follows, bathroom 25%, toilet 20%, kitchen 10% and garden 30%.

Tips For Saving Water
Keeping the pool properly filtered and chemically balanced are just two of the ways of ensuring against unnecessary emptying of the pool and frequent backwashing. This will help save water. Looking after the pool is really very simple. It is a combination of adequate filtration time and correct chemical treatment. See below for simple but helpful tips on water maintenance and conservation:

Adequate Filtration
During the summer it is recommended that the filter should run for 8 to 10 hours a day and whenever people are using the pool. Whilst ever the filter is operating, the surface of the water will be skimmed off removing things like leaves and dust before they sink. To remove the dust and dirt collected by the filter, the filter must be backwashed. This procedure reverses the water flow through the filter and flushes the dirt down the drain. Only continue backwashing until the water in the sight glass provided or at the drain point is clean and clear. This should take no more than one or two minutes.

Chemical Balance
You don’t have to be a scientist to correctly balance your pool. There are three basic rules to follow. Firstly, adjust the total alkalinity level. Secondly, adjust the pH and lastly, ensure the required amount of sanitiser is added either manually or automatically. By continually maintaining correct water balance the need for emptying your pool and the subsequent topping up can save thousands of litres of water annually.

Correct Water Level
Making sure the water level is only half way up the skimmer opening ensures the correct skimming action and also saves water. Do not overfill your pool. It reduces the effectiveness of the skimmer and wastes water.

Covering The Pool
To reduce evaporation and the subsequent need to top up, a pool cover is a wise investment. Covers not only save water but help keep the pool clean and reduce energy costs by reducing heat loss. The availability of rollers for covers makes it a quick and easy way of lowering costs and saving water.