In the interest of public health and safety, the Trafalgar Public Pool has been closed due to a malfunctioning filter.

Gail Sampson, Area Manager for Sport, Recreation & Amenities, says that pool technicians are currently assessing the problem and the pool will be reopened on Sunday 10 January 2010. 

In the meantime, residents are urged to use the following pools nearby:

• Long Street Public Pool, open from 07:00–19:00
• Observatory Public Pool, open from 08:30–17:00
  
  

Sampson says that the closure is necessary to protect public health, as filters and pumps cannot keep the water clean if they are not working due to a malfunction or electricity outage. “We monitor our public swimming pools very closely,” she says. “pH tests
(which measure how acidic or alkaline the water is), are undertaken at all City pools on an hourly basis to test whether there are any possible foreign objects in the water, and chemical adjustments are made where necessary.

“We do everything possible to ensure that swimmers can relax and have fun, secure in the knowledge that the water they’re using is safe and clean.”

“We also perform chemical and bacteriological analyses on the water on a weekly basis at our Scientific Services laboratory in Athlone,” she says. These analyses are used to measure the water’s conductivity, turbidity, chloride and faecal coliform levels – and the good news is that the water is almost without fail safe, clean and unpolluted.

The pH is the most important element in swimming pool water chemistry, because certain chemical processes (such as the sanitising effect of chlorine, a common pool chemical), can only take place when water is a certain pH level. If the pH is too high or too low, the chlorine activity is reduced and becomes less efficient. Eye irritation can also occur if the pH is too high.

The reason the chlorine content is so important is because it disinfects the water, prevents the spread of disease and prevents unwanted growth of bacteria and algae in the pool.

Scientific Services also tests the quality of all drinking water, bulk water, waste water and public amenities.

The City’s public swimming pools are listed below.  For further details, click here.

• Athlone Swimming Pool
• Atlantis Swimming Pool
• Bellville South Swimming Pool
• Bellville Swimming Pool
• Blue Waters Swimming Pool
• Bonteheuwel Swimming Pool
• Camps Bay Tidal Pool
• Cape Town Swimming Pool
• Durbanville Swimming Pool
• Eastridge Swimming Pool
• Elsies River Swimming Pool
• Emthonjeni Swimming Pool
• Goodwood Swimming Pool
• Hanover Park Swimming Pool
• Kensington Swimming Pool
• Langa Swimming Pool
• Lentegeur Swimming Pool
• Long Street Baths
• Long Street Turkish Baths
• Manenberg Swimming Pool
• Mnandi Resort Swimming Pool
• Muizenberg Swimming Pool
• Newlands Swimming Pool
• Observatory Swimming Pool
• Parow North Swimming Pool
• Parow Valley Swimming Pool
• Ravensmead Swimming Pool
• Retreat Swimming Pool
• Ruyterwacht Swimming Pool
• Sea Point Pavillion Swimming Pool
• Strand Swimming Pool
• Strandfontein Swimming Pool
• Trafalgar Park Swimming Pool
• Vulindlela Swimming Pool
• Westridge Swimming Pool
• Wynberg Swimming Pool