UV Treated Water Keeps Swimmers Happy At Cotgrave Leisure Centre
Since opening in 1998, the Cotgrave Leisure Centre near Nottingham has used UV to treat the water in its indoor pool. The technology has been so successful that the centre’s assistant operations manager contacted Hanovia to tell the company how pleased he was.
“I’m really happy the centre decided to install UV right from the start,” said Neil Gallagher. “We use it for primary disinfection, with 1ppm chlorine added for residual disinfection. We could probably go lower than this, but we prefer to keep it at 1ppm, especially at busy times, as part of our ‘belt and braces’ approach to hygiene.”
Continuing, Neil said, “With UV, the pool water is much clearer than if we were using chlorine on its own. Also, because UV destroys any chloramines (combined chlorines) produced by the residual chlorination, the atmosphere around the pool is better, with none of the unwelcome smells or eye irritations normally associated with indoor pools. People often comment on it, and it has even become a bit of a selling point for the pool. I definitely think UV is the way forward.”
Further evidence of the advantages of UV is provided by a recent study in Belgium linking chloramines in indoor swimming pools with childhood asthma (1). The problem is potentially so serious that the researchers said pool operators should seriously consider reducing the amount of chlorine they use. While further research is needed, those operators with any doubts about the long-term health effects of chloramines may wish to consider UV as a viable, cost effective solution.
The unit installed at Cotgrave is a Hanovia medium pressure PSP UV system, which can treat up to 288 m3/hour, based on a UV dose of 60 mJ/cm2. An automatic wiper keeps the sleeve housing the UV lamp clean, so the only regular maintenance required is changing the lamp every six to nine months – a simple operation that is carried out by on-site staff. All Hanovia UV disinfection systems are compact and can usually be installed within existing pipework with minimal disruption.
Cotgrave’s main pool is 25 by eight meters, with a sizeable shallow side pool and beach area for children and families. There is also a 35m flume ride, which twists its way down to an aqua catch. The centre offers a mix of everything from casual public swimming to life saving and sub-aqua classes.
1. Bernard, A., Carbonnelle, S., Michel, O., Higuet, S., de Burbure, C., Buchet, J-P., Hermans, C., Dumont, X., and Doyle, I. (2003). Lung hyperpermeability and asthma prevalence in schoolchildren: unexpected associations with the attendance at indoor chlorinated swimming pools. Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 60, 385-394.
