Have you been swimming in bacteria-infested waters this summer? According to recent city surveys, most likely not – but it doesn’t hurt to check.
On August 17, the Shenzhen Municipal Planning Commission revealed the results of its most recent water quality testing for the city’s pools. In a sample size of 142 pools, during the third round of tests carried out this year, it turned out that only nine didn’t make the cut.
That makes for a 93.7 percent success rate, which is reassuring. But the pools that didn’t meet sanitation standards, some of them in prominent places like a Sheraton hotel, aren’t. There’s also the nature of the pools’ contamination: three showed high levels of urea, aka pee, while the rest were vulnerable to bacteria and viruses.
The water quality tests examined a total of six major factors for each of the pools sampled:
presence of free chlorine, which protects water from contamination
turbidity
urea
pH
total bacteria
coliform bacteria, which indicates the presence of disease-causing microorganisms, often from fecal matter
The latest survey involved analyzing a total of 371 water samples from the randomly selected pools all around Shenzhen. Some were in public areas while others, located in residential areas or even hotels, weren't.
Below, the details of the pools that didn’t make the grade:
| Pool Owner | Address | Problem |
| Changcheng Property Group, Ltd., Baishaling Center | Baishaling Center, Baihua Wu Lu, Futian District | urea |
| Shenzhen Great China Sheraton Co., Ltd. | Shenzhen International Trade Square, 9th floor, 1 Fuhua Yi Lu, by Jingtian Lu, Futian District | urea |
| Shenzhen City Zhengyang Investment and Development Co., Ltd., Mingshi Ge Property Management Branch | Mingshi Ge Building, North side of 1st floor, 4068 Jiefang Lu, Luohu District | not enough free chlorine |
| Shenzhen City Nuode Property Management Co., Ltd., Nuode Holiday Garden Management Office | Nuode Holiday Garden, 369 Qianhai Lu, Nanshan District | urea |
| Shenzhen City Excellence Property Management Co., Ltd., Qian Shuiwan Garden Management Office | Qianshui Wan Garden, Nanshan District | not enough free chlorine |
| Shenzhen City Warmsun Property Management Co., Ltd., Penang Town Management Office | Penang Town Residential Area, 7 Yuehe Lu, Bao’an District | not enough free chlorine |
| Shenzhen City Tagen Property Management Co., Ltd., Tagen Xiandai Cheng Management Office | Tagen Xiandai Cheng Garden, 143 Baihui Wei Er Lu, Longgang District | not enough free chlorine |
| Shenzhen Xiangqi Shiji Property Management Co., Ltd., Ruihua Yuan Branch | Ruihua Garden Residential Area, 110-111 Ailong Dong Lu | not enough free chlorine |
The pools above have already been punished according to law, and mandated to clean up their acts.
The results of the previous round of water quality testing were released on July 15 of this year. They showed that 19 of 278 pools had violated sanitation standards; the success rate, 93.2 percent, is similar to this round’s.
Although the likelihood of running across contaminated pools is relatively small, we suggest that swimmers take basic precautions when going out: Look for a score—all public swimming pools receive a grade, with A being the highest. Also check for a valid sanitation license and water quality test report. And, if you weren't already doing so, avoid water that looks or smells funny.
Stay safe, swimmers!
[Images via Shenzhen Sheraton Futian Hotel, Shenzhen Municipal Health Supervision Bureau]
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