Bernalillo County follows city lead and closes pools

Bernalillo County pools reopened Friday.

Bernalillo County is following the city of Albuquerque’s lead, closing its pools to prevent the spread of a disease that causes diarrhea.

The city of Albuquerque announced Wednesday that all city pools and splash pads would be closed Thursday for more intensive chlorination — super chlorination — after two cases of cryptosporidiosis were confirmed by the Environmental Health Department in people who swam at a city pool. Officials did not specify which pool, and city pools are expected to reopen Friday.

Bernalillo County announced Thursday that it was closing county pools immediately for super chlorination, although no county pools have confirmed cases of cryptosporidium, the microscopic parasite that causes cryptosporidiosis.

During the super chlorination process, workers raise the chlorine levels in a pool by adding granular calcium hypochlorite, according to county spokesman Austin Munn. Then, they lower the pH of the pool with muriatic acid.

The pH measures how acidic or alkaline something is. Battery acid is at the extreme acidic end of the pH scale, while drain cleaner is at the extreme alkaline end and water is right in the middle.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a pH of 7.0 to 7.8 and chlorine level of at least 2 parts per million in swimming pools. During super chlorination, the chlorine level has to stay at 30 parts per million for 18 hours, according to Munn.

Cryptosporidium is considered very chlorine tolerant, so if a pool is at the much lower typical chlorine level, killing the parasite could take 10 and a half days, according to the CDC. E. coli, like most bacteria, takes less than a minute to kill with a typical chlorine concentration.

Workers test the water hourly to make sure the pH levels remain low during the super chlorination process. After 18 hours, the pool filters are backwashed and remaining calcium hypochlorite is vacuumed out, according to Munn.

“Protecting public health is our top priority,” said Andre Dickson, deputy director of Bernalillo County Parks, Recreation and Open Space. “There have been no confirmed cases at any of our pools, but we want to make sure we do everything possible to protect our residents. We appreciate the public’s understanding and patience as we take these necessary steps.”

There is no reopening date set for the county pools, but people can monitor the closures on the BernCo Aquatics page, bernco.gov/community-services/parks-recreation/swimming-pools-spray-parks. People can still participate in the county summer lunch program at pool sites on Friday as previously scheduled.