We first published “When Lightning Strikes,” an article about whether indoor aquatics facilities should clear their pools during an electrical storm, back in 2008.
The article, written by experts Tom Griffiths and Matthew Griffith, has solidly remained in the top three web pages on our website for more than a decade. That equates to nearly 120,000 individual page views!
Clearly, it’s a topic of intense interest. A big reason for this is the lack of regulatory oversight and having no clear industry consensus on the matter.
That’s why when I saw that Shawn DeRosa had conducted a detailed survey about current industry practices, my curiosity was piqued. What would the results show?
Shawn generously shares the data in a special three-part series beginning in this issue. In it, he details the survey methodology, the questions asked, and the respondents’ answers. To put it mildly, the results are both surprising and fascinating. For example, he notes “only 65% indicated they used technology to monitor storm conditions, while the remaining 35% simply watch the sky.”
In future issues, Shawn will share further findings and outline the various approaches to this issue. I invite you to follow this series — this valuable information should help all facilities prepare or update a suitable lightning safety plan.
The other issue we tackle is a rather recent one. The proliferation of lagoons created for watersports, such as surf parks or cable parks, has created a major RWI hazard, as tragically illustrated by the death last fall of 29-year-old Fabrizio Stabile at BSR Surf Resort in Waco, Texas. He contracted the almost always fatal Naegleria fowleri amoeba, often called the brain-eating amoeba.
Most developers argue that lagoons categorically are not pools, and therefore do not require water treatment. In “The Surf Park Conundrum,” expert Kevin Post, principal of Counsilman-Hunsaker, explains why this reasoning is faulty and what standards should be applied to these bodies of water.
It looks as if various governing bodies agree. (See “Lagoons Gaining Attention of Government Officials” in News.) While this is a good and necessary thing, it’s a shame it came at the expense of Stabile’s life.
