After a Storm: What to Check Before Anyone Swims

The wind has dropped, the sun is back, and the pool looks like an afternoon of skimming. Before anyone gets in, work through the checks in order.

The order matters. The first checks are about things that can injure someone. The last ones only cost time and chemicals.

What order should you check the pool in after a storm?

The safest order runs from electrical danger to water chemistry. Pool Pros Construction builds and services pools across Tampa Bay, and this is the sequence the manufacturer, CDC and UF/IFAS guidance below supports:

1. The area around the pool: downed lines, standing water and displaced animals.
2. The equipment pad: whether water reached it, and whether anything should be powered on at all.
3. The electrical system: the GFCI test, lights and any exposed wiring.
4. The water itself: debris, and whether floodwater from outside the yard got in.
5. The screen enclosure and barrier: whether the cage or fence still keeps a young child out.
6. The chemistry: balance, chlorinate, test, then swim.

Is the pool area safe to walk into?

The pool area comes first, before you touch a net. UF/IFAS Extension’s post-storm guidance is not to begin any pool cleanup until the area is assessed as safe, with no downed power lines and no snakes or alligators in the pool.

• Power lines: CDC says to stay clear of fallen power lines and report them to the electric company.
• Standing water: Ready.gov warns not to touch electrical equipment if it is wet or if you are standing in water.
• Animals: UF/IFAS Extension lists alligators, turtles, crabs, snakes, frogs and even bears among the wildlife that can turn up in unexpected places after a storm.

Was the pool equipment pad underwater?

The equipment pad is the most important question after a flood. If water reached the pump, heater, salt system or automation panel, leave the breakers off.

Pentair’s storm guidance says to have a pool professional inspect any equipment exposed to water before you power everything back up. Hayward warns that flood exposure can affect multiple components, strongly recommends inspection by a pool professional, and states that its electrical or gas pool products exposed to flood water are not covered under warranty.

Drying equipment out is only part of the answer. CPSC advises having a qualified professional replace electrical wiring, circuit breakers and fuses that have been under water. CDC says all electrical equipment must be completely dry before it returns to service, with a certified electrician checking it if there is any question.

Pool Pros’ rule for a flooded pad is short: nobody flips a breaker until a professional has looked. Pentair and Hayward are among the pool equipment systems on Pool Pros builds, and both manufacturers say the same thing.

How can you tell whether the pool’s electrical system is safe?

A pool’s GFCI is the first test once a dry pad has power. The Pentair and Hayward pump manuals give the same procedure: push the test button and power should cut off, then push reset and power should return.

Two results mean stop:

• The GFCI does not cut power when tested. Both manuals call that GFCI defective.
• The GFCI trips on its own, without the test button. Both manuals say ground current is flowing and a shock is possible. Do not use the equipment until a qualified service representative corrects the problem.

Storm damage near the water raises the stakes. CPSC names faulty underwater lighting and aging wiring among the electrical hazards around pools, and urges having an electrician qualified in pool and spa repairs inspect the system. Hayward’s manual adds that equipment not bonded to the pool structure increases the risk of electrocution. A cracked light lens, torn conduit or exposed wire is a reason to keep everyone out of the water until that electrician has been.

Did floodwater or runoff get into the pool?

Floodwater is a different problem from rain. A pool filled to overflowing with rain is a cleanup and chemistry job. Water that crossed streets and yards before reaching the pool can carry far worse. CDC says floodwater can contain human and livestock waste, hazardous chemicals, germs, debris and displaced animals.

UF/IFAS Extension adds a point that changes the plan: shock treatments kill most bacteria, algae and viruses, but they will never remove fertilizers and chemicals from pool water. Its list of what pressure washing can blow into a pool includes pesticide residues, pet and wildlife feces, and sewer and septic overflow from a high water table.

• Debris: UF/IFAS Extension advises removing it before decomposition stains the finish. Empty the skimmer and pump baskets too, the same baskets a lovebug flight fills in late summer.
• Outside floodwater: call a pool professional, and don’t drain the pool yourself. Draining a pool around a hurricane has structural risks of its own.

Is the screen enclosure or fence still a working barrier?

The screen enclosure deserves two separate checks. Panels gone and frame standing is often the design working, as our article on pool cage wind ratings in Tampa Bay explains. A bent upright or an anchor pulled from the deck is a structural repair for an enclosure contractor.

The second check is about children. Under section 515.27, Florida Statutes, one way a new pool passes final inspection is an enclosure that meets the barrier requirements of section 515.29. Among its requirements, section 515.29 says a barrier must:

• be at least 4 feet high on the outside,
• have no gaps or openings that could let a young child crawl under, squeeze through or climb over it,
• have gates that open outward, self-close and self-latch, with the release on the pool side out of a young child’s reach.

Section 515.25 defines a young child as anyone under 6. A torn panel low on the wall, a door that no longer latches or a fence section on the ground means the barrier no longer does what section 515.29 describes. Keep children away from the pool until it is repaired.

When is the pool water ready for swimming?

Pool water is ready only after every check above is done. Work the chemistry in this order:

1. Lower the level once the ground dries. UF/IFAS Extension says to wait until the area is relatively free of standing water, bring the level to mid-tile or halfway up the skimmer, and never walk away from a draining pool.
2. Restart circulation. Pentair says to prime the pump, power up and run the filter after confirming the equipment works and obstructions are cleared.
3. Balance before chlorinating. Pentair advises checking pH, alkalinity, hardness and conditioner before adding chlorine.
4. Shock. UF/IFAS Extension says the pool will probably need a shock treatment once the area is safe, the debris is out and the power is back, and suggests asking a pool service technician how long to wait before swimming.
5. Test before anyone swims. CDC recommends that home pools hold pH between 7.0 and 7.8 and at least 1 ppm chlorine, or at least 2 ppm with cyanuric acid, and that owners test at least twice a day.

Green water can be cleared. A damaged electrical system or an open barrier can hurt someone, which is why Pool Pros puts them first on the list.