Metro health inspectors stay busy keeping pools safe - WSMV Channel 4
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In the heat of the summer, there's often nothing more refreshing than a dip in the pool. But health inspectors have ordered several pools shut down in Nashville this summer.
Last month, someone at the Cherry Creek Apartments in Hermitage called the Metro Health Department to report people were getting sick after swimming there.
Inspectors tested the water and soon discovered the bacteria Coliform in all three pools and the whirlpool at the complex.
The department shut down all of the pools until follow-up tests returned clean results.
Inspector Lyn Eubanks said she and the other inspectors are responsible for checking about 900 pools across the city every month.
They don't just check the water. They also examine gates, ladders, emergency phones and safety devices.
When something isn't right, the department shuts it down.
This week, Eubanks found high chemical levels in the whirlpool at the Metroplex YMCA and closed the pool until workers could fix the problem.
"Their bromine was too high, and that can cause skin irritation," Eubanks said.
After a subsequent check, Eubanks gave the pool the all-clear.
Other pools with bad inspections this summer, include the baby pool at the Green Hills YMCA, which also had high bromine levels, and the Rose Park public pool, which didn't have enough chlorine to keep the pool clean.
"If there's no chlorine, we close the pool at once," Eubanks said.
An inspector found that same issue at the splash pad in the new Cumberland Park in early June, which was already closed at the time because of a malfunctioning pump.
But a lab test of the water also revealed E. Coli.
Follow-up tests at each of these pools and the Cumberland Park splash pad came back clean, and they are all now back open.
But Eubanks said her main job is to catch these problems before anyone gets sick or injured while trying to have some summer fun.
"I think we're a little safer because of us. We go out and do our job, and for the most part people do what they're supposed to do," she said.
If you want to know if your pool is safe, just look for the most recent inspection report, which is required to be posted near the pool.
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