It’s Getting Warmer: Time To Drain Your Pool

The City of Kelowna is reminding residents how to properly drain the winter water from your pool.

The temperatures are making their way upwards, and that means pool season is coming up. The City of Kelowna asks residents to drain pools and hot tubs to a dry area on their property, using a low-flow rate over a long period of time. If you have a salt water pool, the water can drain right into the sanitary sewer system.

“It is important to properly drain your pool, hot tub, fountain or other water feature,” says Adrian Weaden, Pump Operations Supervisor. “This ensures that we help protect our water systems and avoid allowing untreated water containing disinfectants or sediment to be released into Okanagan Lake and local streams.”

Water gets into the storm sewer system through catch basins, or the grates on the road. This water goes directly into streams and Okanagan Lake. The sanitary sewer system, however, directs water to the City’s Wastewater Treatment Facility, where the water is treated before it goes into the lake. The sanity systems have a circular pipe with a lid or a square container that, when it’s opened, has a pipe. The container may be marked “SEWER”.

The Sanitary Sewer Storm Drain Regulation Bylaw restricts swimming pool or hot tub water with disinfectants like chlorine, salt water, and bromine from going into the system. The City says that if you can’t properly drain the water on your property, you must dechlorinate the water before draining it into the storm sewer system.

You can contact the City’s Water Quality department before you drain your pool or hot tub to make sure it’s going into the right system. If you improperly discharge contaminated water, you could face a fine of up to $2000.

For more information, call 250-469-8887 or check out the City of Kelowna’s website under “Utilities”.