Brent Council Environmental Health served LC with a Health and Safety at Work Improvment Notice when water from Vale Farm pools showed worryingly high levels of free chlorine.. The pool was closed for a number of days while the problem was rectified.

What it still not clear is how such gross levels built up - why were they not detected sooner? And would the pool have been closed or shut as promptly were it not for Environmental Health being alerted by "numerous complaints"?

 The accompanying EH letter to LC reads:

"On receipt of numerous complaints regarding the above pool, the pool water was sampled on 23/04/08. The preliminary results of the samples taken for analysis on 23/04/08 from the two pools are detailed below:
Adult pool water 18.5mg/l of free chlorine (milligrammes per litre)
Junior pool water >50mg/l of free chlorine (i.e. higher than 50. If the top of the recommended range is 3, this means the kids' pool had a concentration 17x higher than allowed.)
The levels should be between 1 and 3mg/l.

As a result neither pool should be used until normal levels have been restored. I have arranged for further pool water samples to be taken today (24/04/08) to assess the level of free chlorine.The pools therefore should remain closed until the levels of free chlorine is restored to between 1-3mg/l."

The Improvement Notice included:
"The reasons for my said opinion (that LC contravened statutory requirments) are: the levels of total dissolved solids, including chemicals and pollution, are far higher than recommended in the main swimming pool and exceedingly high in the learning pool and as thus may potentially affect the safety of bathers and I hereby require you to remedy the said contraventions or, as the case may be, the matters occasioning them by 30^th April 2008."

 Electronic Copies of the EH documents available on request from LCW. PB