"An Ounce of Prevention..."

Benjamin Franklin is one of the most quotable people ever to color the pages of our American history. A few of his most memorable quotes include, "A penny saved is a penny earned", "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise", and "God helps them that help themselves". Haven't you recently heard one of these in conversation yourself? He was a practical man; knowledgeable and useful in many disciplines. Although not a "pool guy", as far as we know, I believe he would be a profound advocate of preventative maintenance in the pump room today. His quote,

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

should be posted on the wall in the work space of every pool operator. Expending "an ounce of prevention" is essential to realizing that "pound of cure" for operators with "The Solution" on their wall.

The hard part is in remembering to routinely perform a preventative task when the demand hardly seems regular. I'm referring to that "once every so often" acid washing of the venturi. A great way to remind ourselves of regular tasks is to schedule them, right? Knowing when a task was last performed also adds to the level of awareness and further assures timely performance in the future. This is especially helpful when there are multiple parties responsible for completing the same task. Our friends at The City of Henderson (NV) have taken this concept one more step in placing a "last cleaned" notification directly on the face of their feeders. Very practical! The best thing about it is that this method removes the guessing and helps eliminate the eventual foreseeable venturi clogs. How's that for "an ounce of prevention"?

We like this idea so much that we're considering incorporating it as standard issue. Let us know what you think of this helpful hint with your comments!

Model Aquatic Health Code

You are probably aware of the movement toward the development of a national model aquatic health code (MAHC) for recreational water venues, but did you know that you can participate in the process as well? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently taking applications for individuals who are interested in serving on technical committees to address future modules of this code. Go to http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/MAHC/model_code.htm to download the application packet and review background information, vision and objective statements, as well as a diagram of the sequence of events being undertaken as part of the MAHC development process.

In October, the CDC released the MAHC “Strawman”, an overall outline of the envisioned MAHC. In addition, modules covering the first three chapters of the MAHC including the Preface, User Guide, and Definitions were included. A fourth module, providing guidance for responding to Fecal/Vomit/Blood contamination incidents is also available at the same link, www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/MAHC/pdf/announcements/20081010_MAHC_news.pdf.

Encouraging Texas Public Pool Council members to get involved, Tom Vyles of the Plano (TX) Health Department said,

"before you think you are not qualified, take a look at the whole thing (MAHC Structure and Content). You may have some skills or expertise they need."

True too that we don't often have the opportunity to play a part in national policy making. Here's an opportunity to contribute to the model code your state's DOH may very well consider adopting in the future. A worth while consideration for sure!