Phosphate Issue in Large Pool and Lazy River

Hey all,

I manage a 90k gallon pool and a 90k gallon lazy river with a waterfall between them. There’s no runoff, no dead vegetation, and the fill water tests zero for phosphates. The pools are 4 years old with a pebble sheen finish and light to moderate bather load.

Phosphate levels keep spiking to 4-5000ppm+. I use phosphate remover, get them down, but in a week they’re back to the same high levels.

Any idea where these phosphates could be coming from?

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So this is a resort, a hotel?

The people are the source of your difficulty. As they dive into the lazy river, they release sweat, urinate, and food particles that still cling to their plump faces.

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@CurrentCraze Yes, this is a resort setting rather than a home. Perhaps the phosphates are being carried in by the wind or air since there are two 18-hole golf courses on the site that are constantly maintained. Interesting.

Before I got into this scenario, I worked for decades in the home pool industry and could always figure out where excessive phosphate readings were coming from. Now, though, I’m experiencing problems.

I’m going to start approaching things differently from now on.

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Do you fertilize your yard’s gardens or lawn? Is it possible for some of the yard debris to enter the swimming pool? Undigested organics are called phosphates. Perhaps from your fill water as well. In certain towns, the supply is abundant.

5K is rather high. After relieving you, I would replenish you with water that ideally has no phosphates. It will take a month to remedy that number in that gallonage.

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People! Pee, sweat, and whatever oils or lotions they’ve used.

Rain is also present.

I take Orenda 10k religiously; it seems to be much more concentrated than other brands, but that’s just my observation.

To get rid of oils that end up in the pool, enzymes might also be tried. or a mix of the two on different days; either way, chlorine consumption will undoubtedly be decreased.

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@Sadie Although I have utilized enzymes in the past, I consistently return to Seaklear’s commercial phosphate remover due to its exceptional efficacy. likewise highly costly. Luckily, money is not a concern for me.

I suppose I never imagined that the number of swimmers could be so great.

I appreciate your advice.

In addition, there hasn’t been any rain in some months. Haha

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@BreaststrokeBuff Yes, Seaklear produces high-quality items, so I can understand how that one might perform similarly to Orenda. However, you can count yourself lucky in a way because we’ve had five feet of rain during the wet season and there are always phosphates in the fill water during the dry season!