with the Only Year-Round, Outdoor, Salt Pool in Denver

Denver is blessed with over 300 days of sunshine and at the JCC Sports & Fitness Center management often hears members lament the traditional Memorial Day to Labor Day outdoor pool schedule. The JCC S&F Center has always stayed open into October to capitalize on Denver’s mild fall weather. Now it is taking it one step further and announcing its new year-round, outdoor pool for use by lap swimmers and swim teams.

It is adding a few outdoor amenities to help keep the chill at bay including a heated tent on deck for lifeguards and members to warm up before making the trek back indoors as well as hot coffee inside the tent to keep everyone warm before and after their swim. Lighting both in the pool and around the deck is being installed since it gets dark earlier in the winter. Initially the hours will be Monday through Friday 4-7 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays 5:30-9 a.m. and Sunday 8-11 a.m. but additional hours will be added based on demand. The minimum air temperature to swim will be 35 degrees.

Furthermore, as a result of the successful transition from chlorine to a salt sanitizing system for the indoor pool, the outdoor pool will be transitioning to salt sanitizing system on October 3.

This new water cleansing technology is gaining popularity because it provides a better swimming experience. It is better for eyes, hair and skin and after swimming you will not smell like chlorine. In addition, it is better for the air quality and better for the environment.

When you hear the term “salt pool”, you may think of the irritating saltiness from swimming in the ocean. However, the pool salinity from this system is a fraction of natural salt water bodies, between 3,000 and 5,000 parts per million (PPM). In comparison, the ocean’s salinity is 31,000 PPM or more than 6 times saltier than our pool will be. Human tear drops are around 7,200 PPM which is nearly 2.5 times saltier than our pool. At 3,000 PPM, the JCC indoor and outdoor pools’ salinity will be the equivalent of putting one teaspoon of salt into one gallon of water.

Traditionally chlorine has been the go-to for pool sanitization due to its superb ability to kill organisms, bacteria, and other contaminants. Chlorine in its natural form is a gas; this gas is extremely unstable and is therefore not safe to use to treat pools. The chlorine gas can be stabilized by turning it into different forms such as liquid, granular, or tablet chlorine which makes it safer for pool use. In order to stabilize the chlorine, additional chemicals must be added which then creates by-products as the chlorine sanitizes the water which are called chloramines. These chloramines account for the skin and eye irritation many people experience when they swim.

The new TMI Salt Pure® salt sanitizing system produces its own sanitizer for the pool which eliminates the problems of by-products found with typical chlorine products. It is able to produce sanitizer in a cell outside of the pool by using electrolysis. The salt in the pool combines with the electrical current used in the cell which causes a chemical reaction that results in the creation of sodium hypochlorite. The sodium hypochlorite kills bacteria and other contaminants and then reverts back to salt where it begins the process over again.

For a more pleasant, more environmentally friendly swimming experience, dive into the JCC’s new salt pools. For more information on our new indoor and outdoor Salt Pure® pools, contact the JCC aquatics coordinator, Miriam Brizendine at mbrizendine@jccdenver.org.