PWTAG, the Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group, publishes the UK's code of practice for pool water. It isn't law in itself, but it's the standard environmental health officers and insurers look to when they ask whether a pool is being run safely. Winter, with heavier indoor use and shorter days, is a good moment to check you're on top of it.
Testing
Pool water should be tested at the poolside for disinfectant and pH several times a day while the pool is open, with combined chlorine checked regularly too. The code also sets out how often samples should go to a laboratory for microbiological testing. Make sure your testing frequency matches how busy the pool is, and that whoever does it has been trained.
- Poolside tests at the start of each day and at intervals through opening hours
- Results written down, with the time and the tester's initials
- Any reading outside the target range noted, along with what was done about it
- Laboratory samples taken and results filed at the intervals the code sets
Plant and filtration
Check that the filters are being backwashed as planned, the circulation rate is where it should be and the dosing equipment is calibrated. Chemical controllers drift over time, and a probe that reads wrongly will dose wrongly, so they should be checked and recalibrated as part of planned maintenance.
Records
If something goes wrong, your records are what show the pool was being run properly. Keep test results, maintenance visits, incidents and any closures together, and make sure they're easy to find. We log every visit with site form software and send a report afterwards, which gives you a clear audit trail without extra paperwork.
Your pool safety operating procedures
Your normal operating procedures and emergency action plan should reflect how the pool is actually run now. If staff, opening hours or equipment have changed since they were last reviewed, update them, and make sure the team knows where they are.
Commercial pool maintenance to PWTAG guidance
We maintain hotel, school and leisure pools across Surrey, Berkshire and London to PWTAG guidance, with Gas Safe and F-Gas engineers in house for the heating and air handling. If you'd like a second pair of eyes on your set-up, we can visit and talk it through.
Read more about our water treatment & compliance, or call us on 01483 904704.
