Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Pool Managers are required to ensure the health and safety of employees and others who use their pools.  

Leicestershire Scientific Services can verify the microbiological quality of water, to ensure that it conforms to published standards.

Various publications give guidance on standards to be applied.  The Pool Water Treatment and Advisory Group has published ‘Swimming Pool Water Treatment and Quality Standards’, which defines microbiological criteria for swimming pools.  The Public Health Laboratory Service has published guidance on hygiene for Spa pools and hydrotherapy pools.  A summary of the recommendations from these publications is given below, or can be downloaded as a pdf  (42 Kb).

(a)For swimming baths a coliform count of >0 and <10 is acceptable only if colony count at 37ºC/24 h is <10, no E. coli are present and if a further sample is negative for coliforms.

(b)The presence of P. aeruginosa, in association with a colony count of 100/mL or the presence of E. coli, indicates poor pool management.

Leicestershire Scientific Services also performs chemical analysis of waters.  Please contact us for more details on 0116 305 5640