Peeing In The Pool

Be honest.  I expect that each of us has peed in a pool at least once in our life.   If not as an adult, you probably did so as a child.  When you’re a kid playing in the water, even if some of it comes from you, it’s more fun than getting out, walking to the restroom, taking the chance of getting cold in the crisp air, and then returning for your continued play.  When you get older, you’re just lazy or leaking.  I expect that  we all have a bit of both in us.

We have several pools in The Villages .  I’d estimate that we have over 100 pools for common use and thousands of personal pools.  I spoke to the owner of a propane gas company the other day that installs gas storage systems for pool heaters.  He estimates that his company has installed at least ten thousand such systems.  (And that’s just one such company.)   That’s a lot of pools, pool heaters, propane, and, potentially, a lot of pee.

There are four  levels of public pools here.  We have “adult” pools.  You need to be at least thirty to be considered an adult.  There are “family” pools for everyone who lives here, including their younger guests.   The family pools are a little larger than the adult pools.  That way they can accommodate more people.  We also have several “Olympic” size pools.  These pools are used for sport but when there is not a scheduled activity, anyone can use them.  Water volley ball is very popular.

We have a fourth level of pool for those who decided to purchase “country club” pool accessibility.   You can purchase a country club pool membership, or if you are a priority golf member like me, country club pools are included in your golf membership.  Very few people take advantage of these pools so they are wide open most of the time and they are similar in size to the family pools.

I am sure that people pee in all of these pools.  One study of “pool pee” conducted in Canada determined that the average pool contains .0079% pee.   I expect that there is a higher concentration of pee in all of our Village pools.  I’m going out on a limb here, but I would venture to say that the “adult” pools have the greatest percentage of pool pee.  I believe this is true based upon the fact that adults, especially those over fifty-five, are prone to leakage, and we are an over fifty-five community.

Ruth has suggested that we get a pool for our home.  I’m not in favor.   I expect that it may be fun for a while but then all I see is work.  We can hire someone to take care of any pool we decide to install but I’d rather spend my money on other things.  I’m also not in favor of having some young pool boy, dressed in a speedo, take care of my pool.   Some may call my pool boy concern jealousy, but I believe that I am just being a realist.

We do have a hot tub.   I am the primary user and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that our hot tub is pee free.   I’m not sure that I could make the same statement if we invested in a pool.

About a gazillion years ago, we had a pool at our home on Edgeworth.   It wasn’t large, but it was wet.  My parents purchased the pool to help my sisters and me deal with the summer heat.  My mom was not a swimmer so she made sure that the water level was set at a depth that she found comfortable.

This  is a picture of our pool.  My cousin, Ruth Ann, joined my sisters, Sharron and Jackie, and me for an afternoon swim.  Sharron is the one doing the “glam” shot and Jackie is the baby. I would estimate Jackie to be about sixteen  months old.

You’ll note that the water depth was very limited. While it’s almost up to Sharron’s knee cap, she’s lying face down in the water. Based upon the depth of the water, my mom’s inability to swim, and Jackie’s age, I project the ratio of garden hose water, and pee, to be 50 – 50. But I’m sure it was a refreshing 50 – 50 or we wouldn’t be smiling.