Splash june Edition 2013 by Phil_intermedia

Swimming Pools / Leisure / Aquatics / Spas / Health

Issue 88 June/July 2013

The cool pool In an alpine resort Keeping the cash flowing During the offseason Innovation In pool filtration Piscine SPLASH! Asia Singapore review June/July 2013 SPLASH! 1

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WE’LL SHOW YOU HOW TO REALLY SAVE. +

CONTROLS

CLEANERS

OnCommand©

Navigator Pro®

DV5000™

Automates up to four features, three valves, heater and solar controls. Reduces the cost of operating water features by eliminating the need for additional pumps.

Navigator® Pro’s exclusive SmartDrive® programmed steering moves the cleaner silently in a predetermined series of turns for more thorough cleaning and is powered by your filtration system so you don’t have the expense of a booster pump.

It vacuums up dirt and debris regardless of your pool’s shape, size or surface for a more energy-efficient random cleaning pattern.

HEATERS

FILTERS

PUMPS

TigerShark QC©

Universal H-series©

Swim-Clear©

Tristar©

Super II©

Saves up to $545 (94%) annual savings compared to an In-Floor cleaning system.** Saves up to $380 (92%) annual savings compared to Pressure Cleaners.***

These pool and spa heaters have low NOx emission levels, complying with air quality emission standards. Industry leading superior hydraulic performance by reducing circulation pump run time.

Save up to 94% water with Hayward cartridge filters. 40 year design and manufacture experience delivers reduced operating costs by minimising hydraulic losses in all models.

New multi speed model pump has 8 star energy efficiency. Saves up to $745 annual savings, a reduction of 70% in running costs.*

The Super II© multi speed model pump has a 7 star energy efficiency. Select energy efficient settings to ensure maximum savings for normal operation.

For more information on the amazing range of Hayward products contact Hayward Pool Products (Australia). Visit www.hayward-pool.com.au or email sales@hayward-pool.com.au. Phone your nearest branch for the cost of a local call on 1300 POOLS1 or fax 1300POOLS2. Distributed in Australia by Hayward Pool Products (Australia) Pty Ltd ABN: 66 083 413 414. P.O. Box 4384, Dandenong South Vic 3164. P: 1300 POOLS1 F: 1300 POOLS2. Branches & Distributors in all states. *Actual saving based on $0.25 kw/hour cost; the saving may be greater with increased power cost. **Approximate savings based on 3 hours per day operation@$0.25 kw/hour, compared to a 2hp pump. ***Compared to 1.5hp pump.

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50%

LESS SALT

THAN CONVENTIONAL SALT WATER POOLS

THE SAME

TRUSTED

New Autochlor LoSalt. ™

Another breakthrough by AIS. Runs on only half a teaspoon of salt per litre of pool water. Also great for mineral water pools using magnesium salts.

NEW Autochlor™ LoSalt enables traditional salt-water pools to run with 50% less salt while retaining the same levels of protection against harmful bacteria.

Salt water pools typically run with around a teaspoon of salt (5 grams) per litre of water. That’s a quarter of a tonne of salt in a standard 50 cubic meter residential pool! The new Autochlor™ LoSalt produces the same amount of chlorine protection from about half a teaspoon (2.5 grams) of salt per litre of pool water. In-line chlorine generators work by passing an electrical charge through salt water as it flows over a series of titanium plates called anodes. This process is called electrolysis, and it produces sanitising agents. In this way salt water pools are kept clean and healthy without adding chlorine. New Autochlor™ LoSalt uses new ultra-high performing anodes designed and manufactured by AIS, the Australian company that has manufactured Autochlor™ in Queensland for over twenty years. The result is a high-performance chlorine generator that provides health-conscious families with the same amount of protection using half the salt of conventional pools. • 50% less salt than traditional salt pools.

Autochlor™ LoSalt is perfect for so called ”mineral water pools” using magnesium too! In recent years mineral water pools have become increasingly popular as a ‘spa-like’ alternative to conventional salt water pools. Instead of solely traditional salt (sodium chloride), mineral water pools use various blends of other chlorides, namely magnesium and potassium chloride to produce hypochlorite (liquid chlorine). New Autochlor™ LoSalt is compatible with mineral water pools. In fact Autochlor™ LoSalt was initially developed in response to requests from pool builders and service providers looking for more options when choosing chlorine generators for use in mineral water pools. Mineral water pools typically run lower salinity than traditional pools - at around 3.5 grams of salt per litre of pool water instead of 5 grams per litre. Pool owners say this gives them the swimming experience they enjoy. With Autochlor™ LoSalt mineral water pool owners can lower the salinity by a further 30% to 2.5 grams per litre of pool water. This will also save on maintenance costs. For more information visit our web site or give us a call.

• Same levels of protection against harmful bacteria. • Only 2.5 grams of salt per litre of pool water. • New AIS high-performing anodes. • Ideal for traditional salt as well as ‘mineral water pools’ using Magnesium, Potassium, or Calcium blends.

PROTECTION AUTOCHLOR HAS ALWAYS DELIVERED TM

AIS Autochlor Ad_Splash_AW.indd 2-3

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Australian Innovative Systems Pty Ltd, 51 Millennium Place, Tingalpa, Queensland, 4173 Australia +61 7 3396 5222 • www.aiswater.com.au

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26/03/13 11:01 AM

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Contents 66

Four continents converge on Singapore Visitors from 25 countries came to Piscine SPLASH! Asia, the first Australian-French expo collaboration in our industry, held in the cosmopolitan trading hub of Singapore.

Winter warmers Great ideas for keeping the cash rolling in during the offseason, with tips from retailers who’ve done it and experts in the know.

Lessons learnt in Virginia Alan Lewis looks at research from the most recent World Aquatic Health Conference, and discusses why Dr John Snow was historically important for our industry.

Fit for a pharaoh The Pharaoh’s Club in Dubai desperately needed a renewal of its filtration system, and Waterco’s European office came to the party.

Selling swimming pools In the first of a series of articles, Cal Stanley draws on his 32 years’ experience in the pool and spa industry to offer advice on selling swimming pools.

Improved filtration for cleaner pool water Christina DiMartino looks at innovations in the way we filter water for both the residential and commercial swimming pool sectors.

Power and heat: hybrid PV By combining photo voltaic (PV) technology with solar pool heating, this company has made both systems work better.

Cool pool warms alpine resort The main attraction to the Cambrian Spa in Switzerland is its magnificent outdoor pool with views of the stunning ice-coated peaks.

regulars News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Global news. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Pool DAs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Industry moves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Have your say. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Commercial news . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Tenders of the month . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Expo news. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

New products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Top tip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Ad index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

June/July 2013 SPLASH! 7

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C H M 0 3 3 3 _ B S o f t S w i mM a

2 0 1 3 - 0 3 - 1 8 T0 9 : 2 2 : 2 2 + 1 0 : 3 0

Published by The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd ABN 940 025 83 682 41 Bridge Road, Glebe, NSW, 2037 Australia Ph: (02) 9660 2113 Fax: (02) 9660 4419 Managing Director: Simon Grover Managing Director Interpoint Events: Simon Cooper Editor: Chris Maher Phone: 0412 048 639 Email: chrismaher@intermedia.com.au

editorial The Asian Century

Contributors: Christina DiMartino, Alan Lewis, Cal Stanley Advertising Manager: Karen Jaques Phone: (02) 8586 6135 Email: kjaques@intermedia.com.au

There’s no doubt Asia is a market of great potential. And when people talk about the Asian market, their eyes often light up at one word: China. But while China has more than a billion consumers, it’s a notoriously tough nut to crack. However, there is an Asian market much closer to home that many Australians and New Zealanders already have strong ties with: South East Asia.

Designer and illustrator: Ben Akhurst Production Manager: Catherine Murden Head of Circulation: Chris Blacklock For Subscriptions Call: 1800 651 422 Copyright All material in this publication is copyright to the publisher and/or its contributors. No material may be reproduced without the express permission of the publishers.

The softest summer on record.

Soft Swim is a revolutionary new mineral pool range, offering: • Water that is soft on skin, eyes and hair • Efficient use of patented chemistry • Simple installation

Disclaimer: This publication is published by The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd (the “Publisher”). Materials in this publication have been created by a variety of different entities and, to the extent permitted by law, the Publisher accepts no liability for materials created by others. All materials should be considered protected by Australian and international intellectual property laws. Unless you are authorised by law or the copyright owner to do so, you may not copy any of the materials. The mention of a product or service, person or company in this publication does not indicate the Publisher’s endorsement. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Publisher, its agents, company officers or employees. Any use of the information contained in this publication is at the sole risk of the person using that information. The user should make independent enquiries as to the accuracy of the information before relying on that information. All express or implied terms, conditions, warranties, statements, assurances and representations in relation to the Publisher, its publications and its services are expressly excluded save for those conditions and warranties which must be implied under the laws of any State of Australia or the provisions of Division 2 of Part V of the Trade Practices Act 1974 and any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof. To the extent permitted by law, the Publisher will not be liable for any damages including special, exemplary, punitive or consequential damages (including but not limited to economic loss or loss of profit or revenue or loss of opportunity) or indirect loss or damage of any kind arising in contract, tort or otherwise, even if advised of the possibility of such loss of profits or damages. While we use our best endeavours to ensure accuracy of the materials we create, to the extent permitted by law, the Publisher excludes all liability for loss resulting from any inaccuracies or false or misleading statements that may appear in this publication.

Chris Maher Editor chrismaher@ intermedia.com.au

• For all climates • For all pool types • For all pool owners Your customers will enjoy spending less time on pool maintenance and the planet will thank you as well.

There are also some videos of the show at splashmagazine.com. au. Please go and check out them out, and while you’re there have a look at our sparkling new website. We think it’s pretty stunning and we’re very proud of it. Our digital team at Intermedia did a brilliant job, especially Sam and Pauline. As with everything digital, it might still have a few teething issues, but I think it’s just about there. Let us know what you think about the website or anything else: we’re always keen to get feedback.

This issue’s cover

SPLASH! contains NO advertorial.

The Cambrian Spa in Switzerland uses the warm water of its swimming pool as a key selling point. What a way to experience deep winter. Go to page 64 for more on this resort.

Proudly supported by

Soft Swim is as soft as it gets for pool water. Make sure you reap the referrals and repeat business.

Over the past few years, the high dollar has hampered Australians trying to get into overseas markets, but the Aussie has recently taken a dive below parity. On the surface that might seem good (unless you’re importing or going on holidays) but unfortunately the dollar usually drops because of bad economic news and it can also be inflationary. It seems there’s no silver lining without a cloud. We have a big review of Piscine SPLASH! Asia on page 26. Many people came from South East Asia and beyond, and I spoke with a lot of visitors and exhibitors – but I couldn’t fit everyone in the report, so sorry if I missed you!

This issue of SPLASH! magazine published by The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd (Intermedia) may contain magazine or subscription; offers, competitions, forms and surveys (Reader Offers) which require you to provide information about yourself, if you choose to enter or take part in them. If you provide information about yourself to Intermedia, Intermedia will use this information to provide you with the products of services you have requested and may supply your information to contractors that help Intermedia to do this. Intermedia will also use your information to inform you of other Intermedia publications, products, services and events. Intermedia may give your information to organisations that are providing special prizes or offers that are clearly associated with the Reader Offer. Unless you tell us not to, we may give your information to other organisations that may use it to inform you about other products, services or events or to give it to other organisations that may use it for this purpose. If you would like to gain access to the information Intermedia holds about you, please contact Intermedia’s Privacy Officer at The Intermedia Group Pty Ltd, PO Box 55, Glebe, NSW 2037.

• Easy conversion

That’s the area directly to our north including Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and the Philippines amongst other countries. And according to industry leaders, this is a region of expected growth for the swimming pool and spa industry. Especially in the commercial sector because of the growth of tourism and the subsequent development of resorts (all of which have swimming pools) but also in the residential market – mainly in strata housing but in the future, backyard pools will also become more numerous.

CHM 0333/B

The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the above supporters, nor should any product advertised in SPLASH! magazine be seen to be endorsed by the above.

Order Soft Swim today! Freecall for more information. AU 1800 635 743 NZ 0800 441 662 www.softswimpool.com

Audited Circulation Average Net Distribution Per Issue 5,724 CAB Yearly Audit Period ending 31st March 2013

June/July 2013 SPLASH! 9

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+ Illustration: Ben Akhurst – www.badesign.net

dications that fees might exceed $350. Compliance certificates will be valid for three years, unless a subsequent inspection finds the pool to be non-compliant. There is currently no easy path for pool industry members to become pool inspectors in New South Wales. Accredited certifiers under the Building Professional Act 2005 may conduct swimming pool inspections initiated by the pool owner. The minimum qualifications to become an accredited certifier would be Category A3 – which would involve a twoyear TAFE Building Surveying Diploma course, followed by a year of experience working under a certifier. Swimming Pool and Spa Alliance CEO Spiros Dassakis had lobbied strongly during the consultation phase for industry members to be included – and in many ways it seemed an obvious route. However, the government chose to take a different course which could see a significant shortfall in the number of inspectors who could certify pools. He also lobbied at the time for pool inspection training to be included in the

national qualifications for swimming pool and spa technicians, but was unsuccessful. Royal Life Saving has put out a handy Be Safe Pool sheet to help understand the pool register. Go to splashmagazine.com.au to download a copy.

Queensland experience

Queensland has had mandatory pool inspections since 2010, and Rod Webb was intimately involved in the process as a member of the Pool Safety Council. He says that when the idea of Pool Safety Inspectors (PSIs) came along, a lot of people thought they’d make a lot of money. “But the main thing to get you head around is that being a Pool Safety Inspector was always intended to be an adjunct to an existing business,” he says. “Most of those businesses were house inspectors and pest inspectors. They’d do a house inspection for say $450, a pest inspection for $150 and then for another $100 or so to they’d do the pool inspection. “This is different from someone who charges $350 because they’d need a call-out fee and

have other costs. Attempting to use it as a sole business brought a number of people undone.” Webb says the pricing has now rationalised, with fees about $199 to $250 for a sole inspection. On top of the PSI’s fee there is a mandatory the Pool Safety Council (PSC) fee of $32.10. Only a Pool Safety Inspector or a private certifier can inspect pools. To become a PSI in Queensland you can do a Royal Life Saving course at a cost of about $1600, plus you must get professional indemnity to $1 million and pay a fee of $460 which enables you to do inspections anywhere in the State. Year-to-May 2012 All 1500pools must be registered by January 1, 2015. The need for 1200 mandatory inspections hasn’t been determined yet.

Year-to-May 2013

900

Victoria considers 600 pool register

Meanwhile, the Victorian 300 Government is getting closer to 0 establishing pool andNov June a July Augregister Sept Oct pool inspection regime. Bill McArthur, president of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), says a pool register is a good idea but has raised questions about resourcing.

Dec Jan Feb Mar

Development Application (DA) numbers for April and May 2013 have essentially matched figures for the same two months of the previous year: 1637 applications in April and May 2013 compared to 1653 applications in 2012. However, year-to-May numbers show a decline of nine per cent in 2013 compared with 2012 numbers. The twelve-monthly numbers show NSW and Victoria with the biggest falls – down 20 per cent and 16 per cent respectively; while Queensland has improved eight percent – albeit off a relatively low base. Meanwhile the latest Australian Property Monitors’ quarterly house price report shows that Australia’s housing market continues to rise with consecutive quarters of solid growth. National median house prices rose by 1.7 per cent over the March quarter following a rise of 1.8 per cent in the December quarter. Melbourne was the standout performer with a 3.6 per cent rise over the quarter – the best performance in Melbourne for three years – while Sydney is up 4.2 per cent over the year.

Comparison Years-to-May

The NSW Government has launched an online pool register, requiring every residential pool in the state to be registered by October 29, 2013. Once the pool is on the register, homeowners can apply for a compliance certificate from council or an accredited certifier, which will be mandatory for properties with a pool before they can be sold or leased after April 24, 2014. While the aim is to make swimming pools safer and ensure that fences are properly maintained, members of the swimming pool and spa industry have not been brought into the process by being eligible to inspect the pools. Council or an accredited certifier can issues certificates of compliance – but these are only required if the pool is to be sold or leased. To be registered on the online database, the pool owners are expected to “self-certify” – that is, go through a checklist in an attempt to make sure the pool is compliant with AS1926.1 (2012). Confusingly, there are nine different checklists to download at the pool register website, depending on which type of pool or spa the customer owns. SPLASH! has received a number of calls from industry members who are being contacted by pool owners, unsure how to self-certify their pools, and wanting advice on how to proceed. Many seem to be uncomfortable in undertaking the certification by themselves, considering the serious responsibility and the need to comply with Australian standards and state regulations. Pool owners face fines of $220 if they fail to register their pools, up to a potential $2200 if the matter is referred to court. Local councils can charge up to $150 for an initial inspection, and up to $100 for a second or subsequent inspection. However, private certifiers will set their own schedule of fees, with charges in Queensland giving in-

Autumn holds steady

Year-to-May 2012

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Year-to-May 2012

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NSW

VIC

April & May 2012

QLD

April & May 2013

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These figures give a valuable indication of the way the market is trending. However, they are not comprehensive. For example, they do not include pool projects that are approved as part of a new home, smaller projects under the cost threshold, or renovations that don’t require a DA. Also, not all councils are forthcoming with data; councils in some states such as Queensland are particularly reluctant. For further information and more complete reports, call Cordell Information on 1800 80 60 60.

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NSW

April & May 2000

June/July 2013 SPLASH! 11

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3500

10 SPLASH! June/July 2013

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1500

3500

Approvals by State

NSW launches pool register

The MAV is a member of the there should be a requirement Victorian Swimming Pool and for all swimming pools to be Spa Safety Committee, which regularly inspected for mainalso includes SPASA Victoria, tenance of safety features, Royal Life Saving, Kidsafe and favouring mandatory initial Consumer Affairs Victoria. inspections for all pools fol“We’ve been advocating for lowed by four-yearly follow-up a register for quite some time. inspections, under the threat of The working party is working fines for non-compliance. But through those issues – but SPASA doesn’t see the need for the timing would be up to the inspections at sale or lease if the Government as to when it pool has been inspected within would happen. the previous 18 months. “But we have an issue around Rowley says there should be resourcing and extra responsiba 12-month amnesty period for ility. Councils help to uncover people to get their swimming lapses in pool safety, but we pools registered, but believes don’t have the capacity to have councils should adopt a conan army of people looking over sistent inspection policy and back fences. maintain the powers of enforce“Victoria’s building laws ment and compliance, while place the primary safety reoutsourcing the inspections sponsibility on owners to make themselves to private inspectors sure the barrier is installed and who can issue compliance certiproperly maintained. There ficates. However, the inspectors needs to be triggers in the should not be able to certify their system to make sure they are own work or perform compliance compliant, and those triggers rectification work as a result of should be at the time of sale or an inspection. a new lease,” he says. SPASA wants a cost recovery MacArthur says that while he mechanism for the inspections, thinks a national approach would with the cost recovery payable to be good, it would be very difficult private inspectors. to achieve. Rowley says one way the “I think the broader the legissystem could work is that the lation in some areas would be a Department of Planning writes benefit – but because Australia is the examination papers to license Year-to-May 2012 Year-to-May 2013 a federation it might be hard to inspectors, ensuring that all of 1500 co-ordinate nationally.” Section 2.3.2 is applied, while In March 2013, SPASA itself provides the testing 1200 a Victorian property owner was fined facilities, administers licences 900 $30,000 after failing to rectify a and is responsible for auditing non-compliant swimming pool and disciplining inspectors. 600 safety fence. The Building ComSPASA agrees that a counmission prosecuted Anthony cil-based register should be 300 Knight for failing to comply introduced, with the data 0 with a building order to make being used to collate currently June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May the safety barrier of a swimming non-existent pool statistics. Also, pool at his Mt Martha property mandatory resuscitation signage Year-to-May 2012 Year-to-May 2013 compliant with the3500 Building should be enforced. Act. He had been issued with an Meanwhile West Torrens 3000 order in June 2012 to make the Council has said that of the 2500 safety barrier compliant within 50 pools it inspects each year, 2000do so. 30 days, but failed to 90 per cent do not meet safety requirements. 1500 In Western Australia, all pools South Australian 1000 are required to be inspected changes 500 every four years. There is no The South Australian govern0 new WA legislation on ment April May has asked for feedback NSW VIC QLD WA the tableSA at present. Meanwhile, New on its Proposals to Improve Zealand is looking to change the the Legislative Framework for Fencing of Swimming Pool Act Swimming Pools. 1987, including a pool owner SPASA SA manager Suzie maintenance check every three Rowley sent a response to the years monitored by local councils. government, and agrees that

Two-Monthly Comparison

Safety

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Training

Standards

SPASA Queensland enters arrangement with RTO Queensland-based Traxion Training is working with SPASA Queensland & CPSISC (Construction & Maintenance Industries Skills Council) to assist pool & spa industry maintenance professionals obtain subsidies to have their existing skills recognised through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). They will be handling the two qualifications recently developed by CPSISC for the pool & spa

service industry: 1. Certificate III in Swimming Pool & Spa Service – RPL for this program could be achieved by a participant already working in a role that conducts regular pool and spa servicing work. 2. Certificate IV in Swimming Pool & Spa Service – RPL for this qualification could be achieve by a participant who runs a pool maintenance business as it has management requirements

BCA references new standards

above the Cert III program. A funding application is currently being prepared to subsidise the cost of RPL in the above qualifications and all interested parties are encouraged to complete an Expression of Interest (EOI). Non-SPASA Qld members are also encouraged to participate in this Expression of Interest as an Associate. If you wish to join SPASA Queensland the applic-

ation fee will be waived and only the pro-rata annual fee will apply. Completion of the survey does not commit you to participate in the program, however, if you are unsure Traxion recommends completing it as funding is never guaranteed and adding names at a later date may not be possible. Go to the story at www. splashmagazine.com.au to link to the specific Traxion survey monkey page.

Training

Alliance calling for EOI The Swimming Pool & Spa Alliance is also calling for expressions of interest (EOIs) relating to government-subsidised training. The Alliance is seeking EOIs to hopefully obtain government subsidies to support training within the industry; in particular it is seeking government support for the newly launched Pool Technician qualifications – Certificate III in Swimming Pool and Spa Service; and Certificate IV in Swimming Pool and Spa Service.

Registering an expression of interest and providing feedback on what training your business needs will assist the Alliance in gaining subsidies and so minimise the cost of training in these qualifications. This does not commit you to take up the offer should it be approved.

For more information contact Jeffrey Lehrer at training@spasa.org.au.

From May 1, 2013 Volume Two of the Building Code of Australia (BCA) references AS1926.1–2012, AS1926.2–2007 and AS1926.3-2010. Parts 1 and 2 comprise the requirements for pool barriers while Part 3 relates to water recirculation and filtration systems. AS1926.1–2012 clarifies the requirements for boundary fencing which is part of the barrier. In addition, AS1926.1–2012 incorporates the requirement which has been applied through the BCA since 2010, which prohibits the use of child-resistant doorsets in barriers for an outdoor pool. To clarify some of the issues associated with these changes, the Building Commission of Victoria (BCV ) has released Practice Note 2013-05. The changes mean, amongst other things, that new outdoor swimming pools and outdoor spas in Victoria will require four-sided pool fencing as of May 1, 2013, while those built prior to 2010 can still incorporate building walls and compliant, lockable doors and windows as part of the barrier. The practice note states that generally barriers are required for: • In-ground pools and spa pools • Aboveground pools including inflatable pools holding more than 300 mm of water • Indoor pools and spa pools • Bathing and wading pools containing more than 300 mm of water • Spas and swim spas (including portable spas) • Jacuzzis • Hot tubs The BCV urges relevant industry members including designers and building surveyors to obtain a copy of AS1926 as the practice note does not replace the Standard, only clarifies some issues with pools and their associated barriers. Go to splashmagazine.com.au for a QuickLink to the practice note.

Have your say

Each issue we ask you some questions online and publish some of the answers. To take part, simply make sure you’re receiving our eNews. Go online at splashmagazine.com.au to subscribe.

How often should mandatory pool inspections be carried out, and by whom? And what about pool owners: should they be asked to carry out selfcertification of their pool safety features? I’m all for inspections that can be carried out by certified private inspectors and local government. Price to be determined by industry, regulated by government and no self-inspection. Four yearly inspections with fines to be handled by local government. Let’s stop the drowning toll of young children. Alistair Baird, SA I have just purchased a property and it’s a great idea to make sure a pool and its surrounds are up to scratch. Inspections every two years is a little bit of overkill and revenue raising – every five would be good as it keeps things like rule changes and modifications at the forefront. For rentals it should be yearly as changes happen with tenants etc; and at every sale of a property as well. What I like is that if someone builds something like a cubby or shed or raised garden it means it can be identified quickly, it also identifies if neighbours have done something that makes the pool a risk for people. Damien Wool, QLD

Landscaping

Historic win for Aussies at Chelsea For the first time, an Australian entrant has won the Best in Show medal at the Chelsea Flower Show. The Trailfinders Australian Garden by Flemings Nurseries was designed by sustainable landscaping expert Phillip Johnson and built by a team of 18 volunteers over 17 days and more than 2500 labour hours, using 38 tonnes of tools, equipment, materials and plants. Go to splashmagazine.com.au to see a time-lapse video montage of the build.

12 SPLASH! June/July 2013

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June/July 2013 SPLASH! 13

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Be part of the Swimart success story

Media

SPLASH! launches new website

SPLASH! has reinvigorated its digital communication with a new website, redesigned newsletter and a targeted social media program. The new digital platform is designed to be easy to navigate and more visually captivating. It contains the same popular features as the original website and it will continue to break the big industry news stories. Archived editions of the magazine are downloadable (apart from the current edition) in a new interactive format, making them easier to peruse. The website has a more visual focus and includes more videos, a dedicated Asian section and is fully integrated with social media including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. “Our aim is to always be the ultimate communication brand for the swimming pool and spa

The new SPLASH! website at splashmagazine.com.au

industry in Australia and the region,” says Simon Cooper. “For that reason, we constantly seek to improve the usefulness of all our communication vehicles – print, digital and face-to-face. “In 2012 we relaunched our print magazine precisely to make it more enjoyable and useful for our readers. Our Singapore show has been upgraded with a new venue and an international collaboration with our partners, Piscine. Similarly, the New Zealand show was co-located with DesignEx at a new venue and we have new developments soon to be announced for our Gold Coast show as well. “A relaunch of our online communications tools – the website, newsletter and social media – had been in our plans for a while, and we are very pleased to see it come about in such an impressive

fashion. We think it’s a great improvement and we hope our readers feel the same way.” Cooper says the popular SPLASH! online newsletter is specifically targeted to the swimming pool, spa and aquatics industries. “We aim to reach the people who want to be kept informed about the developments and innovations in the industry. We don’t believe in a ‘scattergun’ approach; we target our communication at people who want to receive it.” Intermedia, publisher of SPLASH!, is a leading Australian exponent of digital business-to-business communication, with a combined online visitation and readership of 1.18 million per month across 26 different online titles in 22 different industries.

Media

Stars flop into the pool Diving was brought into the living rooms of hundreds of thousands of Australians thanks to the latest reality television spectacle. While it wasn’t the most popular show on TV, it did showcase the sport of diving which is not generally seen on prime time television outside major international competitions. For many viewers, the highlight was an enormous belly buster from Derek “Thunder” Boyer. The competition was eventually taken out by former Test cricketer Andrew Symonds. Meanwhile, another reality star, Celebrity Apprentice’s Stephanie Rice, has suggested she might not return to swimming, choosing to pursue a media career instead.

Andrew Symonds, Brynne Edelsten, Tamsyn Lewis and Paul Fenech

Upcoming events 2013

Jun 23-25

SPLASH! New Zealand, ASB Showgrounds, Auckland

Jun 30

AustSwim SplashOut Conference, Sydney

Jul 7

AustSwim Seminar, Adelaide

Jul 7

AustSwim Conference, Bedford WA

Jul 13

SPASA Qld awards night

Join Swimart FREE! *

Swimart is growing. And right now, we’re looking for successful independent pool shop owners to get with the strength and join Swimart. Swimart has a strong and very successful business model which we believe would benefit YOUR business.

Jul 19-Aug 4 FINA World Championships, Barcelona Spain

Swimart franchisee’s enjoy;

Jul 20

SPASAWA Awards Of Excellence Gala Dinner

3 Powerful marketing program lead by me, Susie O’Neill

Aug 9-11

Aquafutures International Conference, Seaworld, Gold Coast

3 Higher than industry average profit margins

Aug 10-11

SPASA Victoria Winter Show, MCEC Melbourne

Aug 15

SPASA Convention Day, SOPAC Homebush

Aug 16

SPASA Golf Day, Colebee

Aug 17

SPASA Awards Night, Leichhardt

Aug 21

John Clark Memorial Golf Day, Queensland

Aug 24

SPASA Victoria Awards Night, NGV Melbourne

Sep 7-8

Get Ready for Summer Pool, Spa and Outdoor Living Expo, Perth

Sep 18-20

Waves Pool Spa Bath Expo, New Delhi, India

Oct 3-5

Water Safety and Aquatic Education Conference, Queenstown NZ

Oct 16-18

World Aquatic Health Conference, Indianapolis, USA

Oct 22-25

Aquanale and FSB, Cologne Germany 2013

Nov 9-14

International Pool Spa Patio Expo and Conference, Las Vegas, USA

Dec 2-5

2013 Canadian Pool & Spa Conference & Expo, Niagara Falls, Canada

Dec 7-8

Adelaide Sport, Fitness & Health (ASFH) Festival

3 Exclusive products 3 Professional business support from a franchisor with over 30 years’ experience in the industry There’s never been a better time to join. For a limited time, we’re offering; 3 No up-front franchise fee when you convert* 3 The security of a business buy back agreement* 3 Financial assistance to rebrand your business If you want to add real value to your business and see your sales and profit grow, call Swimart NOW Susie O’Neill Mother and former Olympic and World Champion

2014 Keep informed by subscribing to the free online newsletter. New South Wales Government launches online pool register The NSW Government launched an online pool register, requiring every residential pool in the state to be registered by October 29, 2013.

Top five online news stories

The most popular online news stories at splashmagazine.com.au were... Successful AustralianEuro collaboration Piscine SPLASH! Asia, the first collaboration between French company GL Events and Australian event organiser Interpoint Events was completed successfully.

Poolrite goes into liquidation: sale to AstralPool expected Following a creditors’ meeting, AstralPool Australia had first option to acquire the assets of Poolrite Australia.

NSW excluded from renewed SPASA Australia Questions remained about whether NSW was still part of SPASA Australia, as the federated body began preparations for a new constitution.

Evolve to stay in pool and spa industry Ty Hermans of Evolve reiterated his commitment to remain in the pool industry, despite having his DOCA proposal turned down by Poolrite creditors.

Feb 2-4

Spatex, Ricoh Arena, Coventry, UK

Feb 22-24

UK Pool & Spa, Birmingham

July 16-17

SPLASH! Pool and Spa Trade Show, Jupiters, Gold Coast

More details, dates and links are available at splashmagazine. com.au. These dates are subject to change and should be checked with the relevant organisation. Please send calendar submissions to chrismaher@intermedia.com.au

Contact Chris Fitzmaurice on 02 9898 8602 today www.swimartfranchise.com.au * For full terms and conditions, contact Swimart Head Office on the above telephone number.

14 SPLASH! June/July 2013

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June/July 2013 SPLASH! 15

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Regulation

Government making demands on pool pumps

ONGA®

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As mentioned previously on splashmagazine.com. au, the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (DCCEE) has released a regulatory impact statement (RIS) relating to its intended mandating of Smart Appliance Interfaces for Air Conditioners, Water Heaters and other Appliances, which will include swimming pool pumps and controllers. The Swimming Pool and Spa Alliance put forward a submission, agreeing with some of the measures but highlighting what is sees as potential issues with the proposal to mandate compliance with AS/NZS 4755. According to the SPASA document, a potential downside for the industry is the cost of compliance for manufacturers with that cost being passed on to consumers. However, some manufacturers have already spent considerable R&D funds preparing for this type of technology. Factors which SPASA says supports the proposal include: • Potential improvement of pricing and incentives: prices that reflect the cost of electricity and provide clear signals that encourage consumers to manage their demand • Informed choice: it may be easier for consumers to assess the costs and benefits of their electricity consumption • Innovative services: opportunity for consumers to be offered a wide range of innovative new services by the electricity service providers such as monitors to track and manage their energy use • Investment: allows electricity wholesalers the ability to better manage the grid in a more sophisticated and cost effective way • Control: provides electricity providers with control over nominated smart appliances to deal with peak periods • Data: provides electricity providers with unprecedented access to consumer data and behaviour use patterns

However, SPASA believes factors which don’t support the proposal include: • Manufacturing costs: adding smart appliance interfaces to products will impose additional manufacturing costs, which will be passed on to every buyer of that class of product. • Integration costs: the integration of a demand response circuit in pool pumps/controllers would be a costly exercise for some manufacturers. The estimated $10 dollars provided in the RIS is inconsistent with the research and development that will be required by every manufacturer on their numerous product lines. SPASA says that the early indications from a number of companies suggest the following: • Research and Development costs for DMR1, DRM2 and DRM4 integrations would attract a different development cost due to their specific functionality • Some manufacturers have up to 10 pool pump and controller product lines which may require separate investment into research, development and tooling costs • Estimated manufacturing costs of up to $100,000 dollars per product line are not unrealistic considering the small volumes of pool pump and controllers manufactured in this country • Increased retail pricing of the product by as much as $100 The SPASA response also highlights what they see as a potential discrepancy, as the RIS refers to both pool pumps and controllers throughout the document, while SPASA says pump equipment with speed controls are not subject to AS/NZS4755. “The thing to take into account is that this will be mandatory for the manufacturer, but voluntary for the consumer,” says Spiros Dassakis. “In principle it can be good, but there are a whole lot of holes here.” The full document is available at splashmagazine.com.au.

Energy efficiency

Queenslanders continue to save Queensland power providers Ergon and Energex are extending their pool pump rebate campaigns. Ergon’s Save a Bomb program will continue until June 30, 2013, while Energex’s pool campaign will continue until March 2014. The Save a Bomb program provides customers who have Tariff 33 connected

with a $250 rebate, or a $150 if they have an energy-efficient pool pump installed. Similarly, Energex is offering $150 for an energy efficient pool pump installation and $250 for an economy tariff connection.

For more details go to the QuickLinks tab at splashmagazine.com.au.

visit us at:

www.pentair.com.au

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Expo News Austswim’s NSW Splashout! Metropolitan Aquatic Conference will be held at Knox Grammar, Wahroonga on Sunday June 30.

Royal Life Saving Society Queensland is hosting the three-day Aquafutures International Conference at the Sea World Resort on the Gold Coast from Friday August 9 to Sunday August 11. The Conference will bring together an eclectic range of industry leaders focusing on four key areas: Rescue, Programs, Facility Management and Water Quality Management. Experts from all over the world will be discussing latest trends and best practices in sports facility construction at the 23rd IAKS Congress from the October 22 to 25 in Cologne, Germany. Future-orientated topics include design, construction, modernisation and management of sports and leisure facilities. Interpoint Events has announced the dates for the next SPLASH! Pool and Spa Trade Show on the Gold Coast. It will be held at Jupiters on July 16 to 17, 2014.

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Book review

Top Tip

Now there is the rise of Hot Tub Yoga, which helps increase flexibility thanks to the warm water. The water should be around 27 degrees to 30 degrees and sessions should go for about 45 minutes.

This year’s AquaTekture showcase is bigger and better than ever before, celebrating the GAVA (Global AquaTekture Visionary Awards) winners in a hard cover, glossy coffee table book. The illustrative book features 66 GAVA-winning projects for pool, spa and water designs by artisans from across the globe. The fourth annual water-inspired design competition lured architects, interior designers, builders, and designers to share their projects in the hopes of earning a GAVA. It showcases designs and constructions from US ranches to inner urban areas, from Australian beachfronts to Portuguese villas. This and 5000 other Schiffer titles can be purchased at www.schifferbooks.com. SPLASH! has a copy of AquaTekture to give away, thanks to Schiffer Books. Details will be in an

The perfect finish for the pools you build

upcoming newsletter. To be in with a chance, make sure you are subscribing to the free newsletter. Simply go to splashmagazine.com.au and click on the Sign Up Now button. Also, if you follow us on Twitter @ SPLASHmagonline we’ll remind you when to enter.

Before practicing, check with your primary care physician if you have any health issues. Pregnant women should not practice hot tub yoga. Drink plenty of water and stop if you feel dizzy, lightheaded or sick. Warm up with some light cardio before getting in the tub, and do some light stretching to loosen muscles. Then try something like the Wave Pose. Stand up straight in the middle of the hot tub with your feet spread shoulder-width. Lift your right arm straight up and to the left while angling out your right hip. Look up at your right arm. Repeat on the other side. Swim University has many more poses on their infographic. Contact: www. swimuniversity.com

Looking for a sleek pool cover that also adds safety, sustainability and a sense of finish to your indoor or outdoor pool? Remco has it covered! We’re Australia’s leading quality manufacturer of automated, multifunctional pool cover systems. Our stylish, award winning covers keep pools safe, clean and beautifully warm all year round. Turning a pool shop into a laboratory

Remco has a 20 year history of developing the highest quality pool covers, manufactured to the strictest international standards.

Water testing

Dazzling with science As part of BioGuard’s celebration of 30 years in Australia, the company has supplied this image from the history books, showing a wet testing lab back in the 1980s. Prior to this, water testing in Australia was limited to pH and chlorine and pool owners didn’t see the value of going to their local pool shop to get their water tested, as they could easily do it at home. BioGuard decided to differentiate their retailers by turning their stores into mini-science labs full of glass beakers, test tubes, pipets and volumetric flasks. The Glass Labs could measure total alkalinity, metals such as copper, iron and manganese and calcium hardness.

Visually, the stores looked unique and attracted interest from the customers; but it was backed up by training: running five-day chemical and water testing schools for retailers and technicians. In 1985, the Glass Lab evolved into the Moulded Lab, which provided a plastic housing for the lab equipment and improved store presentation. The early Glass Lab took up a fair bit of floor space but the Moulded Lab was more compact. In 1996 BioGuard introduced computerised water analysis, launching the US-developed AccuScan onto the Australian market, the very first computerised water analysis system. In 2013, the fifth generation AccuScan was released.

MDG 18755

Recently, Bikram Yoga has been gaining popularity. This “hot yoga” involves holding 26 poses in 40 degree heat with a humidity of 40 per cent.

Win a copy of the AquaTekture showcase

FREECALL 1800 652 962 or visit www.remco.com.au

18 SPLASH! June/July 2013

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Chemicals

Voluntary security code on track Global news

The California Contractors State License Board has gone on the rampage, arresting 78 people for carrying out home renovations without a license. They caught the fraudsters in a sting-like operation, posing as homeowners requiring home improvements. If found guilty, the perpetrators could face up to six months in prison and $5000 in fines. US home prices have posted their best gains in seven years, bringing hope that increased equity will spur residential swimming pool construction. Big winners were in the Sunbelt cities of Phoenix and San Francisco with growth of more than 20 per cent. Growth was across the board, although weaker in northern, cooler centres such as New York and Boston. European manufacturer Passion Spas has formed a partnership with US sauna maker Almost Heaven Saunas to distribute the Passion range across the states from their base in Michigan. Tintometer-Lovibond’s Scuba II water testing system has won German magazine Schwimmbad & Sauna’s Golden Wave award in the water treatment and chemicals category. Four of Pentair’s variable-speed pumps have been certified to carry the Energy Star label, awarded by the US Environmental Protection Agency – a first for pool equipment.

The Attorney-General is continuing to urge the pool and spa industry to remain vigilant in ensuring the safe use, handling, storage, sale and disposal of chemicals. Many chemicals are regularly used by the pool and spa industry for legitimate purposes such as cleaning, chlorination and installation. However, some of these chemicals can also be used by terrorists to create deadly weapons. The Australian Government, in partnership with state and territory governments and industry groups, is developing a new voluntary code of practice to help businesses stop terrorists from gaining access to chemicals that can be used to make bombs.

The voluntary code will be based on good business practices that prevent the loss and theft of chemicals and protect industry reputation. It will encourage businesses to consider and examine risk from a national security perspective and to take steps to reduce risk where it can be done in a cost effective and balanced way. It is hoped the code will be launched in the coming months. Further information about chemicals of security concern, including a copy of the draft national code of practice can be found at www.chemicalsecurity.gov.au. Any suspicious behaviour or activities should be reported to the National Security Hotline on 1800 1234 00 or hotline@nationalsecurity.gov.au.

Training

Watkins appointed to CPSISC committee

Australia; and to influence Swimming Pool and Spa government policy, priorities Association of Victoria CEO and regulatory arrangeBrendan Watkins has been ments (including occupaappointed to the Contional licensing) and build struction Industry Advisory a quality training culture in Committee (CIAC) of the the industries. Construction and Property Watkins says that the Services Industry Skills swimming pool and spa Council (CPSISC). industry requires transferCPSISC develops and able qualifications that will promotes national training eventually become career standards and qualificapathways for aspiring pool tions and CIAC is one of two builders and technicians. committees that advises “A seat on the committee the board. The other is the provides SPASA Australia inProperty Services Industry put to forming a meaningful Advisory Committee (PIAC) SPASA Victoria CEO curriculum for practitioners which includes Greg Every Brendan Watkins across the county,” he says. from SPRAA. “There are some concerns about the current The recent development of the Certificate III curriculum being focused more on general and Certificate IV qualifications for pool and spa building and not addressing the unique aspects service technicians went through the developof the pool and spa industry. It’s a great opporment process at CPSISC. tunity to ensure we end up with a worthwhile The skills council is also charged with and meaningful course when it’s eventually encouraging quality training and highlighting enshrined as mandatory across Australia.” career pathways for the industries under its This is a SPASA Australia appointment, and a auspices, and to provide advice and assistance seat on the committee had previously been held to companies and RTOs on the use of national by Cal Stanley when he was involved in SPASA standards and qualifications. WA and SPASA Australia. No announcement CPSISC works with industry to identify had been made about the appointment of a new training needs and priorities and to influence SPASA Australia manager at the time of writing. the allocation of training places through Skills

20 SPLASH! June/July 2013

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RIGID SOLAR HEATING

Pump standards

NFT finds fault in 5102 testing Industry moves Suzie Rowley has taken the position of manager at SPASA South Australia, following the departure of Fred Frede in March.

Rowley grew up in Victoria and has lived most of her life in the eastern states, most recently on the Gold Coast in Queensland. She moved to Adelaide last year to be closer to her family and took up an administration position at SPASA. She has now been promoted to manager. Her career has taken a variety of paths from remedial massage to real estate, while always focussing on administration. Nick Connor has been appointed to the position of Business Development Manager for Focus Products in Queensland. He has more than 10 years’ experience in the pool and spa industry and has a long track record of business growth through his technical knowledge, reliability and account management expertise. Anthony Ramsay, formerly of Pool Systems, is now Queensland Sales Manager for Maytronics Australia. He can be contacted on 0438 847 074.

Terry Day and Brian Bambach of New Fluid Technologies (NFT) have contacted SPLASH! over what they say is a flaw in the testing of pumps to meet Australian Standard 5102, and the consequent awarding of star ratings. At issue is the lack of standardisation of testing facilities, in particular, the placement of the pump in relation to the waterline. If the pump is placed below the waterline, it performs better because it doesn’t need to draw the water against gravity. Similarly, the amount of water in the water tank has a bearing on the performance of the pump – if the tank if full and the pump is below the waterline, greater pressure is exerted, again improving the measured performance of the pump. Where the water re-enters the tank will also have an effect on the head, and should be stipulated, they say. They say pumps (other than self-priming pumps) may be placed above the waterline in residential situations, and in that case, they

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wouldn’t match the performance and consequent star rating achieved in the testing labs. They insist AS5102 needs to stipulate the position of the pump in relation to the waterline, the tank water height and an equation to balance out the results if those parameters vary. To read the full document, go to the QuickLinks tab at splashmagazine.com.au.

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Training

Keep up with the GHS Australia is now party to the Globally Harmonized System of classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS). This system will eventually replace current systems used for classifying the hazards of workplace chemicals and will standardise hazard information on labelling and in safety data sheets. Workplaces in States that have not adopted the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) legislation will still be affected by the introduction of the GHS as labels and safety data sheets are

written to the new format and interstate and overseas customers demand the requirements of the GHS are complied with. Safe Work Australia is hosting a series of information and training sessions to raise awareness and understanding of the hazard classification, safety data sheet and labelling requirements for workplace chemicals in the model Work Health and Safety Legislation, which incorporates the GHS. There is a full list of the sessions at splashmagazine.com.au under the QuickLink tab.

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TPEC picks up marathon swimmer The Pool Enclosure Company (TPEC) has a new ambassador: long distance ocean swimmer Chloë McCardel. Australian McCardel is planning to tackle the Cuba-Florida record in June – risking more than 150 km of shark-infested waters without a cage in a 70 hour non-stop swim. She will also be raising money for charities CanTeen and CanAssist. She has swum a record 60 laps of Bondi Beach, won the prestigious 46km Manhattan Island Marathon and completed six solo crossings of the English Channel and two solo double crossings. Contact: www.chloemccardel.com; www.tpec.com.au

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22 SPLASH! June/July 2013

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EFFICIENT DESIGN REDUCES HEAT LOSS

NFT says the position on of the pump being tested should be stipulated in relation to the waterline

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SPASA Wars

Four state SPASAs agree to share branding The four Swimming Pool & Spa Associations (SPASAs) from the non-NSW states have agreed to a common branding style including the release of new complementary logos for each state and SPASA Australia. SPASA Queensland, SPASA South Australia, SPASA Victoria and SPASA Western Australia have agreed to the new look logos which are identical except for the name of the state, which will be in the same place on each logo, and have a similar appearance to the existing SPASA Victoria logo. Additionally, SPASA Australia has launched a new logo which conforms to the same appearance. SPASA Australia Director (and SPASA Queensland President) Andrew Jakovac says that the sharing of a common brand format is a significant statement of intent from the national peak body and the like-minded state associations. “A strong visual identity is crucial for any business,” he says. “Sharing the same brand, particularly among strongly collaborative organisations, is a natural step to take. Regulation is increasingly becoming harmonised, the Federal Government is wielding greater influence upon the states, we are responding to that changing landscape. “SPASA Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia have evolved – jointly we are also SPASA Australia – and as we roll out national activities we want our shared vision to be reflected in flying the same flag,” he says.

Australian branding

He also says that sharing this new livery will make combined advertising easier across Australia. The initial stage of the rebranding was the creation of the Association logos. The next stage is for each state and SPASA Australia to create their member logos. Jakovac says that should be completed in the very near future, with one result being that for the first time national members will be able to display a SPASA Australia logo. “We’re working towards that but first and foremost we wanted to get a consensus on the Association logos,” says Jakovac. “Then we’ll filter down to the member logos: the States themselves have to implement their own member logos, which will conform to the same format.” He says that they are also making sure procedures and protocols are in place for all SPASA activity. “We’re documenting everything and making sure proper corporate governance is in place,” he says. “So there will be a policy document specifically about the logos, for example.”

New level of co-operation

Jakovac says that the branding agreement is a public display of the behind-the-scenes collaboration across a range of issues. “I wasn’t previously involved in national issues, but from what I can understand, this level of co-operation and goodwill from the states is unprecedented.” It is a similar situation in Queensland, according to Jakovac, with the drive for greater transparency and accountability resulting in renewed commitment from members. “I haven’t seen such a positive outlook from the membership base during the 10 years since I’ve been involved in the association,” he says. “We’ve got supplier members involved who haven’t been before, and others putting their hands up. We try to make sure that every month we add new value to each sector. That level of enthusiasm didn’t exist under the previous CEO. The tide is changing and it’s showing in bums on seats and attendance at meetings. Our last supplier sector meeting had 22 members in attendance.” He says they’ve put new procedures in place such as setting up supply sector coordinators and assistants, each with key performance indicators (KPIs), an organisational chart and documentation they must produce for the membership. “It’s been a lot of work putting that in place,” he says. “Every sector coordinator now has an induction and our insurers and lawyers explain their responsibilities. It’s all documented and they get a certificate of appointment. “We’re doing the same types of things in SPASA Australia as well. The corporate governance issues are being put into place so the policies and procedures will be there no matter what personalities are in charge.” He also says that SPASA Australia will be ready to announce their new manager shortly. Regarding the relationship with the Swimming Pool & Spa Alliance, he says the door is open, although the court case is still proceeding at present and a settlement has not been reached. “But we’ve been in communications with NSW with a view to integrate and settle the issues – the conversations are ongoing.”

Response from the Alliance

Meanwhile, the Swimming Pool & Spa Alliance issued a statement saying that it is currently before the courts as a consequence of an action brought by the four state associations regarding matters including the use of the SPASA Australia branding and they should be mindful of adopting any such national branding relating to SPASA Australia while the legal action is pending.

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everyone,” he says. “More importantly, we were able to conduct training classes with our product experts from the US. Our classes were very well attended, a testament to the draw of the show. Talking specifically about South East Asia, Frykman says the market is growing at a healthy rate. “There is substantial investment in resorts and hotels which are demanding high quality, innovative products which we are well-positioned to supply,” he says. “I expect this growth to continue, as the Asian economies transition from manufacturing and export-based to more consumer-based. That said, we are years away from the time when residential pools are a substantial part of the market. Stand-alone, residential homes are a rarity in Asia, so naturally pools in such a setting are also rare. “Someone told me there are exactly seven private residential pools in the Maldives. That tells the story.” Hugh Smith, Pentair Pool Water and Spa’s Director of Global Growth Asia Pacific, says the show was much better than the show two years ago. “I think the draw was good,” says Smith. “We actually had customers from all over the region and we promoted it pretty heavily in the sense we had training and were going to show our new products. “We were extremely happy with the result. Traffic was good and I didn’t get a chance to walk the whole floor, so that means we were quite busy. The level of activity was better than expected, the interest was good and the quality of the attendees was very good. I think we got about 80 per cent of our existing customers to

Four continents converge on

Singapore P

iscine SPLASH! Asia, the first collaboration between French company GL Events and Australian event organiser Interpoint Events has been completed successfully in Singapore – Asia’s cosmopolitan trading hub. The show was held over two days in May at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre and included an extensive seminar and education program. Interpoint held a SPLASH! Pool & Spa Trade Show in Singapore in 2011, but the 2013 event was the first joint show with GL, and the first combined Australian-European exhibition venture in the industry. Plans are underway for the next Piscine SPLASH! Asia in 2015. Visitors commented on the wide range of interesting and innovative exhibitions from around the world. Many said they had found products and ideas they had never seen before and were pleased to see comprehensive and relevant information for both the commercial and residential sectors. High level executives from major global players were present, providing a unique opportunity for members of this emerging market to discuss important issues. While visitor numbers were at a similar level to the previous Singapore show, exhibitors overwhelmingly commented that the quality of attendees was extremely high, and the engagement between visitors and exhibitors was a highlight of the show. Managing Director of Interpoint Events, Simon Cooper says he is

pleased that the event achieved its goal of being a truly international meeting place for the industry in Asia. “Piscine SPLASH! Asia was very successful in bringing people from all around the region and all around the world, with 65 exhibiting companies from 11 countries and four continents, and more than 700 visitors from 25 different countries.” Noémi Petit, exhibition director GL Events, says that many of Piscine’s 600 exhibitors had been asking her for several years how they might become involved in Asia. “When SPLASH! Asia started, we knew we could form a partnership based on quality and good knowledge of the pool and spa industry. After delivering the show together, we are 100 per cent certain we took the right decision. GL Events and Interpoint Events delivered what the Asian market expected: a large representation of pool and spa equipment on an international scale – including Australian, French, Italian, German, British, Greek, American, Canadian, Belgian and Chinese. “We have started it now and will have this show running for the long term. Exhibitors were satisfied, visitors also. The show is sure to grow and show the best to this fast-growing market.” Karl Frykman, President of Pentair Aquatic Systems, says the show was great. “We saw most of our important customers, which is very efficient for me, as I have difficulty travelling the vast region of SEA to meet

the show, they were quite happy with the venue and the presentation and the stands. Not too many participated in the seminars which I was a bit disappointed about but I think it was just because we had two days of training after the event, but overall I was very satisfied with the event and pretty happy with how it went. Smith concurs with Frykman about the potential for South East Asia. “For most multinationals, South East Asia has become a region of growth,” he says. “With the opening of Myanmar, with the economic development in Indonesia and the work that the government’s done in the Philippines, we see huge potential for growth. “The show is timed perfectly for what we’re trying to do in the region, it’s a great opportunity to invest in the region and I’m sure we’ll get that return as the region grows.” Although the quality of the seminars was high with many leading international speakers, attendance may have been affected by the change of venue, as the renovations at the initially planned venue of Suntec had not been completed in time. This meant the seminars had to be held on a different level of the conference centre. Organisers are investigating ways to improve seminar attendance at the next edition of the show, and are also planning even more extensive and targeted pre-show marketing leading up to the 2015 event. The regular golf tournament was held after the completion of the expo, with Team Supreme claiming the bragging rights. 02. Visitor numbers were similar to the previous edition of SPLASH! Asia, but engagement between exhibitors and attendees was even greater. 03. Australian-headquarted Emaux has a strong presence in more than 70 countries including production centre in Hong Kong and a manufacturing base in China. No strangers to the Asian market, their stand was constantly busy.

MAIN: A new show is born. This is a sculpture called Planet by Marc Quinn in the newly completed Singapore Gardens by the Bay. The Piscine SPLASH! Asia 2013 venue, Marina Bay Sands, is in the background.

05 04

04. In a first for Asia, Cal Stanley ran his now famous Advanced Hydraulics Workshop. He explained in intricate detail the application of science to the transfer of water from the pool, through a pump, filter and other devices and back to the pool again. “It sounds simple,” he says. “But get it wrong and your worst nightmare could be upon you.” 05. Robert De Martini, Hayward’s International Marketing GM says the show was surprisingly good for them. “We’ve had customers coming from Indonesia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia. It’s been well attended by some important people…the South East Asian region in general has been a strong market for Hayward for some time. We have some very hard working importers and distributors in the region who’ve ridden a lot of the growth over the past several years and we’re happy to share that growth with them.” Go to splashmagazine.com.au to see an interview with De Martini.

26 SPLASH! June/July 2013

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06. The show was a great place for people to meet. Here AstralPool’s Xavior Pavon catches up with Soo Ngee Chew, the president of the newly formed Malaysian Swimming Pool Association (MSPA). Chew has been involved in the pool industry for more than 30 years and his company, Asiapools, is the oldest pool builder in Malaysia. He says other pool markets have associations and the Malaysian industry has grown a lot, so he and his fellow elders of the industry such as Ivan Wong, CS Tan and Charles Tay thought they should have an association. “Everyone in the pool industry has done well, and we thought we should try and give something back and improve the standard of the industry,” he says. “We came to the Singapore show two years ago, and this show is a lot better, there are some European manufacturers now and a wider range of products. It’s not near the Lyon or American shows in size, but I’m sure it will grow from here. I’m looking into a few companies I’ve met here as potential business partners.” Go to splashmagazine.com.au to see an interview with Soo Ngee.

14. Melbourne-based Remco came to Singapore to raise awareness of and generate interest in their pool covers and enclosures. Australian-headquarted Emaux has a strong presence in more than 70 countries including a production centre in Hong Kong and a manufacturing base in China. No strangers to the Asian market, their stand was constantly busy.

07. Piscine Desjoyaux is the world’s largest pool 07 manufacturer and builder. Paul Desjoyaux is its fourth generation director and he is looking for distributors in Asia and Australia. “We are looking to find some distributors for the Philippines, Korea and also some regional distributors for Australia. We’re now in Sydney and are looking for people in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth as soon as possible. The market in Asia is very good and there are some countries that are growing very fast like India and Vietnam,” he says. Go to splashmagazine.com.au to see an interview with Desjoyaux. 08. Ms Josefa and Ms Finah helped attract customers to the JD Pools stand. Managing Director Thanusak Phungdet says: “We came here because this is a very well-known show, and we want to exhibit our new concept. JD is 16 years in Thailand: we are a manufacturer and we want to franchise our pool builder network. The concept is a PVC liner with panels and filters. We can produce a pool in seven days; and we can also do larger pools such as for water parks – you just add more filters as you need them. We have 70 showrooms in Thailand and have produced 10,000 pools already; and have another franchise, Pool Pro & Lab for water testing.” He says they had a great deal of interest from countries such as India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

13. Ling Mee Hung and the Pansar team distribute Davey in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei and were looking for exposure through the show as they’re reasonably new to the industry, having previously worked with pressure pumps.

15. Shane Healey from Zodiac talks to Malaysian pool builder Timothy D’cruz (left). “This is a very well organised show benefitting the industry in Singapore, Malaysia and neighbouring countries,” says D’cruz. “Many of the things we have seen here we only read about in magazines before, such as the chlorine-free pool system and also silent pumps with variable speeds and low power consumption. These are all very good for the industry.” Go to splashmagazine.com.au to see an interview with D’cruz about pool building methods in Malaysia.

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16. Chris Papa says Maytronics is looking for distributors into Asia. “The show’s been really good and the tank’s been working like a magnet drawing people in. There’s been a fair amount of attendees which is always nice to see, a lot from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. But the show’s still in the development stage, being only the second one, so you’ve got to be fair and reasonable about how many people come through. Robotics aren’t widely known in Asia so it’s a bit of a learning curve for them, but you’ve got to start somewhere and get the awareness up.”

09. The Hayward/Unlite stand was always buzzing. 10. The Desjoyaux pool added a vibrant element to the show floor. 11. Pentair’s intelligent control systems attracted a lot of attention. Visitors were particularly interested in the fact that IntelliTouch automation, which can control small or large pool and spa projects including water features and lighting, can be easily controlled though a user-friendly push-button interface, and even more easily via wireless devices such as smartphones. 12. Singapore-based company BeAqua promoted health and fitness equipment for swimming pools. Go to splashmagazine.com.au to see an interview with Managing Director Vanessa Gandolfi. 18

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18. Supreme Heating’s Colin Mauger and Bree Daniel were looking for new commercial opportunities for their evacuated tube technology. Go to splashmagazine.com.au to see a video of Craig Doncon on the roof of the Bunbury Sports Centre with the largest evacuated tube solar project in Australia.

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17. Remi Frachon was promoting the Solid Pool polypropylene formwork system. “It’s like a Lego game for big boys. You put rebar inside then you pour concrete inside, then you’ll have a reinforced concrete structure. The system is very light, so it’s easy to put together. You can have a liner or mosaic finish and any shape of pool. An 8m x 4m pool would take one person one day to assemble the blocks, say one day for excavation, half a day for the slab, and half a day for the pouring. So we can say by the end of the week, the shell of the pool will be ready. It comes with a proprietary filtration system integrated in a block.

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19. Keith Glass and Alistair Crawford from Glasgow-based Triogen sharing some genuine Scotch whisky (made by Glass’s brother) with Le Ngoc Luyen of Vietnam. “We’ve picked up some good leads in Australia, as well as Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and a few other countries,” says Glass. 20. Inigo Elzo from Ezzari Tiles was trying to find distributors. “We’ve already found some good contacts for countries where we don’t already have distributors: Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia – quite a lot of countries.”

21. Roland Paulik from South Pacific Pool Enclosures came up from New Zealand for the show and combined the trip with an Asian holiday. “I though the show 20 was very good, very informative and we found a couple of products we’ll add to our range. With pool enclosures you can get condensation, and we found a liquid pool product from Horner that can help alleviate it.”

22. Pentair’s quiet EQ plastic pumps proved a talking point with the commercial sector, as their high levels of extraordinary electrical and hydraulic efficiency make them cheaper to run and also reduce wear-and-tear on critical moving parts.

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23. Elbtal Plastics manufactures and supplies 1.5mm PVC re-inforced linings for onsite installation of concrete pools and 0.8mm linings for prefabricated pools. “We are looking for distributors here, because we go to 36 different countries but we’re not in Asia at present. We are also raising awareness of the product because it is not well known here.”

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24. Sovereign Spas are made in Johor Bahru for the Singapore-based company. Lena Lim (left) says they currently export to the Maldives and Indonesia, but want to find more distributors.

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25. Gareth Chua from Singapore-based Proline handles Zelbrite, Onga and StaRite amongst other brands. “We want some exposure and to get some new customers – so far so good.”

26. Albatross’s Michael Van Der Haar promoted his new stainless steel pre-engineered pools. 24

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27. Linda Carrol and Luis Diaz from Horner Express had a wide range of products on display: the solar powered ioniser was very popular and so was their liquid pool blanket amongst many other products.

June/July 2013 SPLASH! 31

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TH E DA

28. David Dunn (left) from Alligator Systems in the UK was impressed with the expo. “We’ve been showing our ionisation system here for the first time and I’ve got a book full of leads I’ve never had before.”

29. Kelly Dancer from Heliocol with the new SunX collector. “The show’s been great: we’ve had the opportunity to reach people from all around the region all from one place. Just about every major Asian country has shown interest, like Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore. We wanted to make more relationships and we’ve done a pretty good job with that.”

30. Rohan from Poolwater Products was trying to educate a new market about in-floor cleaning systems. “They’re new to this market and pretty much untapped and we’re trying to educate and get some serious interest in the brand and the product. We have had some interest in ozone – the Clear O3 is a bit unique as ours operates on the suction side of the pump, while most others operate on the discharge side, so that’s been a winner and it’s price competitive too.”

31. Faustino Costa from Herboner is seen here with his famous gold-plated pump which attracted a lot of attention and many photographers. “The show was good, the quality of the customers in particular. We made contacts from Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand – some really good contacts. I think the collaboration between SPLASH! and Piscine was good.”

32. Holger Steinborn from ESM was promoting his stainless steel swimming pools. They come prefabricated in 6m long elements, and are then TIG welded together.

33. Proud members of the MSPA, Gurcharan Kaur and Arjeet Singh were interested in AstralPool’s Pool Mac and other innovations, such as the very bright Belgian lights. “We bought a robotic pool cleaner at the show [as they did in 2011]; we got it at a good price as our guinea pig. Through this expo we are now certified by NSPI. It’s due to SPLASH! that we have really opened ourselves up and became more advanced; slowly moving forward, and not focussing just on Malaysia.”

34. Joel Stern says that Sterns Pools had great success last time so they came to Singapore again. “Last time we got three good distributors out of it in India, Vietnam and Myanmar. This time it’s not quite as good, but the people who came through are of a higher quality, not so many tyre-kickers. We picked up a couple of good leads in South East Asia, so it was worth coming.” 35. Michael from the Blue Glass Pebble Company was promoting his genuine NZ white pebble from Invercargill. “It’s extremely pure white and very rounded but at a cost effective price. It’s more expensive than standard Bundaberg pebble, but it’s about 30 per cent cheaper than other premium NZ white pebbles. We got a lot of leads from pool builders in South East Asia, Australia and Europe.”

16-17 July 2014 Jupiter’s Hotel & Casino Gold Coast, Australia

36. Marc Balsat and Lamberts Marc from Belgian company Propulsion Systems were looking for distributors for their LED lights. “Propulsion Systems was a pioneer in the LED lighting systems. Lamberts Marc and his father Lamberts Lucien were involved in this for many years. We showed the first colour LED in Lyon in 2003. Our new lights are now completely sealed, and all plastic. There is no air inside: it is packed with polymers. We’ve taken some orders from Indonesia and other enquiries.”

www.splashexpo.com.au

June/July 2013 SPLASH! 33

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37. Peter from QPool said he had some very good enquiries from Singapore and Malaysia for his new mid-priced product called Silkstone.

41. Mathew Newman manufactures electrodes in Brisbane and was looking to make some new contacts. “I met some people from great Britain and Europe who could be good.”

38. William Smith worked on R&D with Poolrite amongst others and has now set up Seal Pool Equipment. He came to the show to exhibit his new Australian-made chlorinator and broaden his horizons.

42. Nghi Tram explains the commercial pool concepts of the Wow Company.

39. Tina Biernat from Freedom Pools came to meet people from different parts of the world. “I’m into wellbeing, and Freedom Pools is now Green Tick Approved, so I was looking for some healthy options. I enjoyed the water chemistry seminars and Hugh Smith’s green seminar and the Feng Shui design seminar. I really enjoyed meeting reputable people from the industry, especially as I’m part of the new generation coming through in the industry.”

40. Cay-Peter Voss from water testing pioneer’s Lovibond found the show much better than expected. “Especially the attendance from countries outside Singapore. It was very strong from Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Saudi Arabia. It was quality. So every time we discussed matters we almost sat down and talked sensible business plans. And of course, there is no public – you want people in the trade who know what they’re talking about.”

43. Charles Tay from Waterlink Technologies (of Lego Land fame amongst other local projects) came to look for new products and meet up with friends. “As this is a trade show you get to see your old friends in the trade and see what’s new. It was interesting. I looked at AstralPool’s new product, very compact; and also at some alarms, the Angel Eye, and some other things. The designs this year are more robust and more innovative. There’s been a lot of advancement even in the past two years. I’m definitely looking forward to the next one in two years’ time. Or maybe even in Jupiters on the Gold Coast – every time I go there I win money!’

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June/July 2013 SPLASH! 35

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The New Treo Family Simply the Best

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44. Pentair’s large exhibition space had many people stopping by. In particular, the circular lounge in the centre of the stand seemed to possess a feng shui inspired magnetism. Go to splashmagazine.com.au to see an interview with Hugh Smith (centre) about the show.

45. Marc Perez explains AstralPool’s new Pool Mac 3.0. “It’s kind of an appliance if you want to call it that, to control the physical and chemical treatment of the pool. The main part is the smart manager. You can pretty much program everything. You can set up the time of day or night to do the filtration; select the number of people who are regularly using the pool; then select the environment, rural or urban. Then it generates a suggested program. You can then go in as a user and adjust it, but at least you have a suggestion. Inside the box you have everything you need for the pool. In the first part you have a filter, and in the second you have everything else. So if you have an existing pool you might just get the second part, as the filter’s probably in good condition. This part has a variable speed pump, a pre-filter, a salt chlorination system with pH control, also a water flow meter so you can calculate if everything is going well. You can control three external features as well, so you could add a heat pump which you would just plug in at the side. They’re not standard products inside, they’re made especially to fit in the machine. It’s made for people who don’t want a hassle with pools. They just want to relax and have fun with their family. We’ll launch in Europe this year and in Australia in time for summer.

46. Gordon Smith, Doug Fulham and Geoff Ninnes shared a stand. Fulham says he likes to read SPLASH! “I think it’s gone from strength to strength. The calibre of the information’s high and the stories are always interesting. It’s all good stuff.” SPLASH! spoke with Geoff Ninnes about residential builders moving into the commercial sector; and with Doug Fulham about the change in timing of tenders. Those interviews will appear in Edition 89 (August 2013).

Birth of a chlorinefree system Waterco launched their new Hydroxypure chlorine-free swimming pool sanitisation system at the show. Nick Briscoe is the inventor: “The concept started because my son Dalton had a bad eczema reaction to chlorine– even salt chlorination would affect him. As I was in the industry I decided I should do something about it and it’s taken seven years to come up with the right combination. I started off testing all the existing technology but I was always interested in hydrogen peroxide. I tried UV, but if the water got cloudy, the light stopped working. And when it gets cloudy is when you want it to work the best. Then I tried ozone – but it’s hard to mix the ozone in the water. In the end I used a UV ozone system which created ozone and hydroxyl radicals, and by adding hydrogen peroxide to water with ozone we got the peroxone process, making it 20 to 50 times more effective in killing pathogens. We found a company in the US who understood the advanced oxidation process, and their UV ozone system complements our system perfectly. We mix it all in the MultiCyclone and encapsulate the whole peroxone process in there. At all times in the water there’s a residual of hydrogen peroxide while the system’s off; and when the system’s on, you have 100 per cent kill of all pathogens in the water. We can run much higher calcium hardness levels in the water, because there’s no scaling, making the water more pleasant to swim in. Dalton is now 16 and doesn’t have to use creams or lotions to control his eczema; he just swims in the pool. Now he wants us to convert the local pool, so he can compete in his school carnival!”

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36 SPLASH! June/July 2013

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supports a free downloadable app for popular smartphones and tablets. If that isn’t enough control, an optional, dedicated RF remote can be purchased separately. It's easy to see that Fiberstars is "Leading the way in LED.” Please contact Steve Gasperson, President of Fiberstars, Inc. sgasperson@fiberstars.com 888704-2276. We are looking for DISSTRIBUTION PARTNERS IN YOUR AREA. The New

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Winter warmers

keeping the cash rolling in during the offseason ABOVE: Heating provides winter warmth for some pool industry retailers BELOW: Party and wedding hire is likely to be more successful in the tropical north

hen the season cools down, some retailers find it hard to keep the cash flowing, and turn to a side-business to help make ends meet. In the United States, many retailers bring in some extra revenue selling Christmas decorations. Obviously, that won’t work in Australia and New Zealand as our Christmas is during peak season. So what options are available for us in the Southern Hemisphere? One idea is heating – not just pool heating, but home heating.

Poolside Wimmera Spas & Pools in Horsham sells wood and gas heaters during winter. Co-owner Gary Watts says the heating side of the business was already there when he took over the business – he’s been at the shop for 10 years, and been co-owner for seven. “The best months for heating are from April through to August – the months that are no good for swimming pools,” he says. “So it works quite well in the downtime, as we still generate income and cashflow during the winter.” He says there is a different skill set to learn in selling heaters, but can be worth the effort. “All in all, it gives us about 10 per cent of our annual turnover, so it’s worthwhile but it wouldn’t survive as a standalone business,” he says. “But in conjunction with a pool shop it works, as there’s something to fall back on in winter. “Also, it gives us a different customer base and there’s no doubt some cross-pollination. We are also outdoor furniture retailers, sell spas and have a yard out the back with pots and water features. Personally I know of a least a couple of stores who do wood heating – I don’t think we’re unique.”

The wedding game

Some other people who inherited a side-business – but of an entirely different nature – are Rhonda and Garry Teitz of Magnetic Island Pool Shop. “There are a lot of holiday homes on Maggie, and around Christmas people are advised not to go swimming in the ocean because of the stingers,” says Rhonda Teitz. “So the only option is to have a swimming pool.

+ “We look after about 200 pools. We’re the only pool shop on the island, there’s a couple of people who do gardens and pool maintenance as well, but they have to bring water in to us for testing.” Magnetic Island is tropical, so there is no real winter, but the offseason is a little cooler and drier. “It goes quiet from just after Easter until September – the shop’s quieter but there’s enough work for one full time and one part time service technician.” They supplement their income during these months with party hire equipment and wedding hire.

“The best months for heating are from April through to August – the months that are no good for swimming pools” “When we purchased the building, the current tenants were a hire company and had chairs and tables and scaffolding and things like that. When they decided to leave, we bought the tables and chairs, and some eskies and urns.” Teitz realised that if they didn’t go into the hire business in a bigger way, someone could come over from the mainland and start up a business, and then she’d be left with the chairs and tables. “So now we’ve now got two mobile cold-rooms and a huge enclosed trailer. I do weddings now too. They tend to be in the offseason – it’s not as humid, it’s quite lovely. There are 22 bays on the island, and there’s a few favourite spots where people like to get married. I have a couple of bamboo gazebos to get married under. A lot of people from interstate and overseas come here to get married. “We had a bit of a learning curve with the party hire side, but I went into it gradually. You’ve got to be prepared for the unexpected,” she says.

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The sideline helps pay the way during the off-season, but there is one problem. “It doesn’t really interfere with the pool business, they complement each other really. The only complaint is that we don’t get much of a break to go on holidays.” In fact, they had to squeeze a holiday in with a trip to Singapore for Piscine SPLASH! Asia. Party hire and wedding hire in the offseason might not work in the south of the country, but in North Queensland and other tropical locations it can be successful.

Talking about heating

“It’s not news that the pool industry slows down during the cooler winter months, but this doesn’t mean pool owners should neglect their pool and spa,” says Chris Fitzmaurice, Swimart Australasian Manager. “Preventative maintenance can potentially save time and money further down the line – and ensure their asset is protected. We work with customers to ensure their needs are met and encourage them to not let their pool maintenance regime slip during the colder months, as it makes it harder to get the pool back into shape for summer,” he says. “We offer home servicing throughout the year and naturally this doesn’t stop during winter. We help customers ‘winterise’ their pool and spa by adjusting timers on pumps and filters, checking equipment and maintaining regular water testing to keep the nasties at bay. So winter servicing is really a customer education process. “Winter is also an ideal time to talk to customers about pool heating and pool covers. When it’s cooler, the idea of warm water is more appealing and we find pool owners are more interested to investigate and more likely to invest in these items.”

Training and planning

BioLab Commercial Director Lindsay McGrath says there’s no doubt that the pool industry is subject to major seasonal fluctuations, and the extent depends on the location of your business. “At BioLab we support retailers by providing them with options like packaged winter pool maintenance programs, promotions, stock offers and terms to help manage cash flow to help drive business revenue,” he says. “We also encourage best practice techniques in regards to staff management and service technical utilisation.” He also encourages retailers to use the winter to focus on training – both staff training and pool owner training events which help build the relationship with the customer and create additional business revenue. “Finally, winter also needs to be used for business planning for the season ahead to ensure you can maximise revenue and profits. It’s too late to start this planning only a month or two before the season starts,” he says.

TOP: Garry Teitz enjoying the good life on Magnetic Island ABOVE: Rhonda and Garry Teitz at Piscine SPLASH! Asia RIGHT: The large covered trailer was a useful purchase and provides mobile advertising space

Preparing for summer

“Our hard work in the offseason pays dividends in the on-season,” says PoolWerx CEO John O’Brien. “Most of our franchise partners have year-round contracts with hotels, motels and other commercial pools. These ongoing revenue streams allow them to spend winter focusing on internal planning for the year ahead.

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Poolside Wimmera Spas & Pools carries gas and wood heaters in winter, such as this Heat Charm combustion firebox

“Instead of worrying about making the next sale, they are training, business planning, stock taking, re-merchandising, getting their service vans in shape and refreshing their staff with holidays so they’re prepared come the start of season.” They should also focus on preventative pool and spa care services in the quieter months. “Our stores educate pool and spa owners about the importance of a healthy pool year-round and ensure their pool equipment is repaired or upgraded in preparation for the year ahead. “It’s also a good time to introduce the latest pool heating options and educate pool owners about energy efficient pool equipment. “With the support of our national support office, everyone has the ability to attend our winter workshop seminars which include training on topics such as HR, and sales and marketing,” he says.

Be sure it’s a good decision

Max Williams of My Red Zebra says that in the past few months more pool shop owners have been asking the question: “What kind of business can I get into that will relieve my cash flow problems from my seasonal pool business?”

“Then in the 1980s there was a huge market for merchant banks in facilitating ‘disaggregation’ – that is, selling off those acquired operations that never really fitted with the core business. Williams says that this period of failed diversification gave rise to two very profound modern day business proverbs. The first is: “Stick to the knitting”. The second: “Focus like a laser! “You can’t focus like that if you are looking across different businesses. “If you are thinking of getting into another business because your pool shop is getting really tough, first ask yourself, Have I done everything possible to build up my pool shop?; and, Am I at the leading edge of retailing and business management? “Then ask yourself, If my pool shop is getting harder and harder, why will my new business be any different? After all, seasonal or not, your pool shop once kept you happy!” He says the solution is usually not to add another business that will also be under-managed, but to better manage the business you already have. n

The Magnetic Island party hire ad for the local paper

Heliocol SPLASH half pg.indd 1

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Pools have always been seasonal, he says, and for many years, numerous pool shops have added heating sales to offset the winter sales dip. So why has the subject become so important just now? The increasing pressure on pool shop sales and margins is the most probable cause. But he warns that getting into another business for this reason is laced with serious dangers. While the logic seems simple and straightforward, history shows how seriously this approach can go wrong. Williams says that in the 1970s, corporate America became infatuated with “diversification”. That is, a company with a good record in say, hardware manufacturing, decided to buy a cosmetic company to “diversify” and spread its market risk. “The infatuation spread to the rest of the world,” he says. “A huge business was developed for merchant banks to facilitate ‘diversifications’ – buying into businesses that had nothing to do with a company’s own core business. Corporate egos fed the rush to diversify. The result was disastrous for most. Not all of them failed, just most of them!

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CIRCULATION REVOLUTION

Selling swimming pools This is the first in a series of articles by Cal Stanley drawing on his 32 years’ experience in the swimming pool and spa industry

By Cal Stanley

our clients today are not the ones you would have encountered 15 years ago. They are more sophisticated and thanks to the internet they will be far more informed on our industry than ever before. They will throw ideas at you and ask questions they would not have thought of years ago. Some readers will already be operating very successful businesses, others may be just starting out and still others may be well into the process but struggling. Regardless, I trust you will all be able to glean something of benefit from this article, no matter how small. To sell a swimming pool, first you have to sell yourself to the client, then sell the business and finally the pool or spa. So what do you need to be able to do this? You will all use many and varied selling tools but it all starts and ends with confidence. So how and where do you get it? Some will say that confidence comes from within. You either have it or you don’t. I believe confidence comes from both experience and knowledge and it takes time, effort and investment to get both. Experience is simply doing things right and doing them wrong. Experience is learning to repeat the things you do right and not repeat the things that went wrong. I don’t claim to know everything there is about this industry – far from it. I am still learning every day. But I was reasonably successful in selling pools, with a high contract-to-quote ratio. I attribute that to the knowledge and experience I continually gained from so many sources. You can do it too, it is not hard; just invest a bit of time and money every year. Knowledge is gained by experience but its acquisition can be accelerated by learning from a myriad of sources such as: educational sessions at conferences and trade shows, new product launches, picking the brains of others, experimentation, reading trade magazines such as this, etc. It is and must be a never-ending process.

Trade shows and conventions

Go to every one you can. You will see new products to use; many will have seminars and training programs.

Don’t miss the bi-annual SPLASH! Pool and Spa Trade Show on the Gold Coast, or the ones in Auckland and Singapore if that’s where your business is, the SPASA Convention in Sydney and all the other state trade shows every year. One great place to visit is the APSP Pool Spa & Patio show held in early November every year in the US. The Americans don’t know everything about this industry. After all we introduced them to salt chlorination, pebble finishes and showed them how to really build and sell fibreglass pools. But they are excellent at the training sessions they run in the same week as the show. Most years you can choose from well over 100 different seminars and training sessions. If a good trade show is what you’re after, try and get to the bi-annual show in Lyon, France. In 2010 I went across after the US show in the middle of the GFC and I was staggered to find it was five to six times bigger than the one at Las Vegas. I never failed to return from one of these conventions or trade shows without picking up some new idea or product and that made the trip worthwhile. You can do it too; it is one of the best ways to broaden your knowledge.

Structured training

The Federal Government through COAG and the Industry Skills Councils has set up a Vocational and Educational Training scheme (VET). Outside of NSW and Queensland, few courses have been run in our industry and those in the construction field are inadequate and need upgrading. However, in time the completion of these courses followed by licensing will become mandatory. Those with a wealth of experience will get Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL), while others may have to do substantial training. Get into it early if you can, even before it becomes compulsory Australia-wide.

Learning from others

Never be afraid to ask those more experienced than you. Most will gladly assist as they were by others in their past. Read every trade magazine or journal you can find. This isn’t the only one. Most articles are very informative and interesting. Ask questions of other professionals you come into contact with such as your engineer, your suppliers, your competitors and pool service technicians.

Impress your customers and attract more referrals by joining the Circulation Revolution

+ Enviraflo has changed swimming pool plumbing forever. It’s a simple and easy to install circulation system which draws water from the deepest part of the pool and uses the patented QuikSkim venturi skimmer to keep pools clean and fresh at low pump speeds. Pool owners can now save more than 85% on pump running costs and still enjoy powerful skimming and sparkling clean water. Pool builders, phone, email, or visit our website today and learn how to become a licensed Enviraflo installer. Your customers will be so impressed they’ll want to tell everybody about the energy-saving pool you built them.

Australian Standards

Most state SPASA bodies have standard contracts for their builders that includes a clause whereby you agree to construct/install your pools to all relevant Standards, yet most of you do not have a copy of any standards in your office. Standards Australia can give a list of those involving our industry or your local SPASA office can assist. Buy them, study them, apply them and you will have an edge over your competitors. Never stop your search for industry knowledge! n

Phone 1300 652 076 enquiries@cookes.com.au www.cookeindustries.com.au

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70XL

Improved filtration for cleaner pool water

By Christina Di Martino

+ This pool in Murwillumbah on the NSW north coast keeps the water pristine thanks to Zelbrite filter media

s it a stretch to compare updates and innovations in filtration with what we’re seeing today in electronics? Perhaps, but nonetheless, a day hardly passes without a company somewhere in the world introducing a new product that promises to keep pools and spas cleaner, more economical, more environment-friendly and do it all in a much less complicated way. In this feature we will look at some advances in both residential and commercial swimming pool filtration. Sand filters have been around since the Romans dominated the world, but there have been many advances since them. Recently cartridge filters have become popular because of purchase price and water savings. But these filters must be pulled apart to be manually hosed clean, and they must be replaced from time to time. Diatomaceous earth (commonly called DE) filters are highly efficient at removing dirt particles as small as five microns, and can be backwashed. These systems, however, lost favour about 20 years ago, primarily because of the work involved premixing the powder with water—a quite messy endeavour. When dry, DE powder can be dangerous with the potential to cause silicosis and must be handled with extreme care. New but similar media alternatives have been produced which are safer, such as perlite. Many backyard pool owners and commercial pool operators believe that media filters (commonly called sand filters, although the actual media might be different) are the easiest type of filter to operate and maintain as they can be backwashed. Additionally they might have a media that will last five years or longer, depending on the media being used. For those interested in saving water and the convenience of operation this can still be achieved by using a suitable filter media that is recognised and has accreditation from reputable agencies such as

the Smart Approved WaterMark, Australia’s water saving label for products and services helping to reduce water use. Another accreditation agency, the Savewater! Alliance, works with member water businesses, government agencies and product and technology providers to invest in delivering a range of outcomes in water conservation and efficiency, valuing water products and initiatives, and product and technology solutions. Another is in Western Australia: The Water Corporation of WA, a business enterprise owned by the state government and accountable to the Minister for Water. Peter Rabbidge of Zeolite Australia says that Zelbrite zeolite filter media is the only product that recognised by all three of these authorities. It is being used in backyard and commercial swimming pools, water parks and water treatment plants throughout Australia and overseas. The test results from the Australian Water Quality Centre show that Zelbrite can filter down to two microns. Rabbidge says that other companies may make similar claims, but he questions whether they will publish the name of the testing agency.

The Pentair Leisuretime range

A revolution in pool filtration, MultiCyclone 70XL is a brilliant per-filtration device that works on the basis of centrifugal water filtration and is designed with no moving parts and no filter media to clean or replace. Minimises filter maintenance and saves water No filter media to clean or replace Maximum flow rate of 90m3 / hr Compact size and ease of installation Suitable for new and existing commercial installations

2 S av e t i m e , wat e r a n d e n e r g y

Keeping it simple

Robert Sterland, Aquatic Systems product manager for Pentair Australia/New Zealand, says that their new Leisuretime II sand filter is a high performance sand filter but is incredibly simple to operate and maintain, with in-built long-term reliability. He says its highly efficient design provides all the clean, crystal clear water pools require year after year. The multi-port valve puts all filter functions right at users’ fingertips. They just rotate the handle to the desired position and the Leisuretime filter does the rest.

NSW (head office) 02 9898 8686 Sa 08 8244 6000

Qld 07 3299 9900 Wa 08 9273 1900

www.waterco.com

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vic 03 9764 1211 NZ 09 525 7570

June/July 2013 SPLASH! 47

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Simple Operation, Proven Performance.

NPriC es Se

The Cristalflo slot-less lateral system

The Leisuretime features spun-woven fibreglass construction for exceptional strength, chemical resistance and long life; a UV-resistant tank; a stainless steel clamp for corrosion resistance; 360-degree rotation of the multi-port valve to simplify installation; a top diffuser for even distribution of water over the top of the sand bed; and a top-mount six-function 1-1/2” multi-port valve with pressure gauge, sight glass and manual air relief for optimum filtration efficiency. It comes in large capacity 25” and 28” models with a 1-1/2” or 2” valve. Another innovation from Pentair is the Clear Pro Technology, which Sterland says takes sand filtration to a new level of clarity. “Standard sand filters pass water through a bed of sand and the clean water travels back through slots moulded in the lateral,” he says. “Standard sand filter lateral provides filtration down to the 25 micron range. This 25 micron level is reached as the filter captures more debris. But ClearPro Technology laterals have no slots. The water passes through a porous media that has a very treacherous path. This treacherous path allows smaller particles to be captured so the water has a more polished appearance.” He says ClearPro Technology enables filtering down to the eight to 10 micron range. Clearpro laterals will be available on CristalFlo and Tagelus sand filters from Pentair before the coming season.

Crystallite granules

Focus Products has designed and developed the Noria Flo, which it says is the perfect companion for any filter. It delivers high performance filtration through crystallite granules, while reducing water consumption with reduced backwashing and rinsing. Focus says Flo crystallite filter media is a crushed glass filter media with superior filtration properties. The irregularity of the particles means the filter bed packs down with a tighter filtration gap in between particles, giving a finer grade of filtration than the same size particle of silica sand. This means it can filter down to a particle size of three to five microns. Available in two grades, it is recommended that a coarse grade is used to cover the laterals and the remainder is a fine grade. According to Focus, Flo is less prone to clogging and channelling than other filter media, and will also use approximately 20 to 25 per cent less water for backwashing than other media. The hardness of the particle also means that the media is less prone to algae and contamination retention and promotes water flow through the filter bed. View our online video showing common pool fencing faults and how to spot them at View our online video showing common pool fencing faults and how to spot them at Focus says that alternate filtration media is either porous and www.kidshealth.chw.edu.au/projects/drowning-prevention/swimming-pool-fencing www.kidshealth.chw.edu.au/projects/drowning-prevention/swimming-pool-fencing water can flow through the particle, or has a rougher surface which will allow micro-organisms to attach and multiply. Focus says that water flow rates through Flo will be slightly higher KIH1025/0811/SC than regular sand and mineral zeolite, and that Flo is excellent to use when low flows are utilised with energy saving pumps.

Protect Pool, Protect Your Your Pool, Protect Kids Protect Your Your Kids

KIH1025/0811/SC

Clearpro laterals will be available on CristalFlo and Tagelus sand filters from Pentair before the coming season.

The media also has a polarity, or a static property, which will assist in the flocculation of contaminants and particles, increasing its filtration properties. Positively charged particles will be attracted to negatively charged particles, increasing the particle size and therefore increasing the filtration rate. Noria Flo is 100 per cent new crystallite glass and has no residual odour, discoloration or contaminants from recycled material.

Saving money with better filtration

Justin Nicholas, marketing services officer for Cooke Industries says the company’s Enviraflo improves filtration and saves money. “Enviraflo is an innovative pool circulation system which enhances pool ownership by combining with variable- or multi-speed energy efficient pumps to reduce energy use by more than 85 per cent, all while maintaining pool water health and quality,” says Nicholas. “The use of energy efficient pumps alone usually results in insufficient circulation and a deterioration of water quality,” he says. “Enviraflo maintains water quality by restoring circulation and skimming rates at lower energy levels to rates which were previously only enjoyed at higher pumping speeds and costs.” He says that Enviraflo’s patented design works by drawing water through the AVSC drain in the lowest part of the pool – the most difficult water to move in all swimming pools – and filtering larger debris through the LeafVac debris canister on its way to the pump.

Regenerative Precoat Filters with More Features & Benefits: • Non-corrosive FRP construction materials • Simple, single-pass precoating • Large diameter, rigid candles • Dustless “wet-vac” precoating • Clean by backwashing OR gravity down drain

SYDNEY:

Phone: +61 2 9772 2477 Email: service@fulfab.com.au

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PERTH & SE ASIA:

Phone: +61 8 9344 3611 Email: greg@chadson.com.au

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Commercial considerations

This diagram shows how Cooke Industries’ Enviroflow filtration system works by drawing water from the bottom of the pool and returning it to the top

After filtering, the majority of water returns to the pool through traditional eyeball returns, while 30 litres of water is redirected to the QuikSkim venturi-powered automatic skimmer. “These 30 litres generate the powerful venturi skimming action of 190 to 265 lpm (litres per minute) which are filtered by QuikSkim’s unique silk sock, further improving pool filtration by trapping ultra-fine surface debris,” he says. “Enviraflo enables pool owners to increase both the efficiency and cleanliness of their pool filtration system by combining lower pump speeds and unique design features which reduce the load on the main filtration unit. “’Enviraflo will improve pool filtration at a greatly reduced cost, fully integrates with all water management systems, can be automated or manually controlled, is available in a range of stylish colours and can be installed into fibreglass and concrete pools during construction,” he says.

Fulham Engineering Service has manufactured pool equipment since 1957 under its brand names Atlas precoat filters, Chadson granular filters and Fulfab pool products. Doug Fulham says the new Atlas NPC series of filters complements the existing Atlas PCT product range. “NPC filters are expertly manufactured from fibre reinforced plastic, commonly referred to as FRP, and are rated for salt or seawater applications, without reliance on an internal lining or protective coating. The FRP construction of the NPC Series also obviates any issues associated with AS3000 equipotential bonding,” he says. “Atlas filters don’t require a compressor, pneumatics, or any other sophisticated controls,” says Fulham. “They are therefore simple to install and easy to operate. The NPC series is sold locally within Australia, without the purchaser becoming embroiled with import duties, currency fluctuations or international freight issues. As with all Atlas filters, the NPC product is supplied to potential owners via accredited trade contractors and installers.” Although the NPC product is new, it uses the same internal components that are used within the current PCT series. Since its inception in Australia in 1998, there are now more than 400 Atlas filters providing valuable service throughout Australia. Fulham also mentioned the company’s Chadson SS series of filters. The company has marketed its FRP

filters since 1976. Stainless steel filters shells are now available as an option. “These vessels are crafted from Marine Grade 316L stainless steel in accordance with all relevant Australian standards,” says Fulham. “The Chadson SS series uses the same time timeproven filter internals as with other Chadson filters. Features include robust laterals for water-only or shunt pulse backwashing, hydraulically balanced distributor/ over-drain, screeded drain cock and internal opening access hatch.” He says the Chadson SS series is for the discerning owner who seeks maximum aesthetic appeal without compromising proven performance.

Commercial cyclones and other solutions Bryan Goh is the group marketing director for Waterco headquartered in Rydalmere, NSW. At the recent Piscine SPLASH! Asia in Singapore, he spoke to SPLASH! about their new commercial MultiCyclone – the media-free pre-filter that has proved very popular for residential applications. “It’s basically like the residential MultiCyclone except there’s more cyclones,” he says. “Commercial pool operators used to put the standard MultiCyclone in parallel to cope with the higher flow rate. This larger one is designed to cope with larger pools. We put a plate in a filter with 70 cyclones arranged on it.

ABOVE: Diagram showing Waterco’s lateral systems

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Chadson Granular Filters are specifically designed for commercial duty and continuous use 24 hours a day, 365 days per annum. Since their introduction in 1976, they have received wide acceptance and are highly regarded for their dependable performance by pool owners and operators alike. When you consider all of the design features, it is no wonder Chadson Granular Filters provide owners with very significant life cycle cost benefits. Don’t take the risk with imported or over-grown sand filters not designed for continuous duty – it’s simply not worth the replacement cost and down time. With the proven and dependable performance of Chadson Granular Filters, buying Australian made goods makes good economic sense – not just for your pool, but also for the whole country. If you are considering a filter replacement, designing a new pool, or just unhappy with the performance of your existing system, contact us today. We will provide you with case history, engineering details and comparative data that will provide the most cost-effective solutions.

www.aquaquip.com.au

PERTH: 15 CRESSAL RD, BALCATTA WA 6021 PHONE: (08) 9344 3611 • FAX: (08) 9344 5799 EMAIL: greg@chadson.com.au

NEW SOUTH WALES AQUA-QUIP +61 2 9643 8338 • QUEENSLAND RAINBOW POOL PRODUCTS +61 7 3849 5385 • WESTERN AUSTRALIA CHADSON ENGINEERING +61 8 9344 3611 • VICTORIA RELTECH AUSTRALIA +61 3 9459 3838 • ZODIAC NATIONALLY 1800 688 552

SYDNEY: 162 BEACONSFIELD ST, MILPERRA 2214 PHONE: (02) 9772 2477 • FAX: (02) 9771 5598 EMAIL: service@fulfab.com.au

www.chadsonfilters.com.au

AQ SPLASH! 007

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Waterco’s split tank filter for easy retrofitting

looping its horizontal filter’s distributors and laterals. The new lateral configuration provides a more natural flow of water through the filter, ensuring optimum water filtration and balanced fluidisation of the filter bed during backwashing. “Its individual laterals are shortened while maintaining filter media bed coverage, reducing the friction head loss of each lateral, further improving the filter’s hydraulic efficiency. It reduces backwash run times, saves water and produces flatter more uniform filter media bed after backwash.”

“The faster the water goes through, the better filtration, but the greater the head loss. So you have to get a balance. With this you can increase the flow rate now to 1500 lpm. The current cyclone’s absolute maximum is 500 lpm. We have one installation in the UK, but this is the first time we’ve shown it in this region. It occupies a compact space so it’s easy to retrofit as well. It replaces between four and six traditional MultiCyclones. “We’re also looking at applying it in the water treatment market. It currently filters down to about 30 mircons, but we’re working on filters than one day could replace standard filtration – but that’s just in development at the moment. It’s still a few years away.” Waterco has also introduced a looped lateral configuration for its entire range of commercial horizontal fibreglass filters,” Goh says. “Conventional horizontal filter lateral systems consist of straight piping fitted with laterals along the length of the horizontal filter. A conventional lateral system results in uneven fluidisation of the filter media bed. The beginning of the lateral system experiences a strong flow of water, which gradually decreases along the length of the lateral piping. Backwash flow also decreases towards the end of each lateral, resulting in non-uniform lifting of the filter media bed.” Goh says Waterco has vastly improved the hydraulic efficiency its horizontal filter lateral system by

assembled on site in the plant room. The two halves seal perfectly, using an O-ring and held together by a flange using nuts and bolts. The filter is specifically designed to fit through existing plant room doors. “Additionally, the split tank’s port connections are unique, as Waterco uses a proprietary boring method to enable tank penetrations. This involves a CNC operation that is programmed into the machine to give the exact thickness that is needed in order to maintain the required wall thickness. As a result of the boring method and the flanged ring assembly, the inlet and outlet port are perfectly parallel to each other, therefore maintaining the external plumbing integrity.”

Retrofitting with a split tank

Waterco’ new fiberglass pressure tanks are rapidly replacing steel tanks in myriad commercial and industrial applications. The company has launched a specially-designed fiberglass split-tank pressure vessel with an unprecedented pressure rating of 4 bars. The Hydron split tank filter has been designed with demanding environments in mind. Sam Schuckert, Waterco’s national commercial/water treatment manager, says that because it is made from fiberglass, the Hydron split tank filter can withstand high pressure, making it an ideal solution for a wide range of applications including water treatment and commercial swimming pool facilities. “The fiberglass filter is also ideal for retrofitting,” says Schuckert. “It can be delivered in two parts and

Contacts Chadson: www.chadsonfilters.com.au Cooke Industries: www.cookeindustries.com.au Doug Fulham: dougfulham@fulfab.com.au Focus: www.focusproducts.com.au Neptune Benson: www.neptunebenson.com Pentair: www.pentair.com.au Waterco: www.waterco.com.au Zeolite: www.zeolite.com.au

Ultra-fine filtration

Grahame Bateman from Neptune-Benson Australia says that with the steeply rising cost of water, gas and electricity, a pool filtration plant room is increasingly coming into focus as an area that can have a major impact on the overall success or failure of a pool or aquatic business. “With the advent over the past decade of ultra-fine regenerative filters (UFF) that use either DE or Perlite as the filter media there has been a marked improvement in the quality, clarity and health of the water, filtering down to 1 micron,” says Bateman. He says there has been a commensurate impact on bottom line costs with savings generated through the lower use of water and energy.

“We now see the latest generation UFF filters, such as The Defender by Neptune-Benson that don’t backwash, can operate at maximum efficiency even at slower flow rates, integrate with variable speed drive pumps and use the safe filter media of perlite. These filters can deliver a 90 per cent water saving (plus savings on chemical and heating costs) when compared to sand filters and they have been shown to save several thousands of dollars per filter per year when used in combination with variable speed drive pumps.” n

A cutaway showing the inside of The Defender by Neptune Benson

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Hybrid PV innovation powers and heats pools

his rooftop in Sydney’s north shore is home to a hybrid array that combines photo voltaic (PV ) technology – which runs the swimming pool pump, amongst other things – with solar pool heating. The intriguing aspect of it is that the combination of the two makes them both work better. And being in combination, they take up less space on the roof. “The utilities’ research shows that pool owners are the least represented group in the PV market,” says Toby Greenane of Solimpeks. “That’s because the roof space is often used for solar pool heating.” This system enables them to have both, and at a cheaper price than buying them separately. Solimpeks has had this site up since January 2013, acting as a test site to collect data for a power utility, with the aim of evaluating costing.

This roof has ten panels totalling 2kW

“Solimpeks has been making panels in Turkey for 30 years, and are OEM for household brand names,” he says. “Turkey is the second largest consumer of solar thermal energy behind China.” The solar thermal collectors are traditionally used for hot water in Europe, but they’re being developed for pool heating in Australia. Called the PowerTherm system, it has a standard flatplate solar thermal collector behind the PV panels. The absorber plate collects the heat and passes it off into a closed loop. “It’s pretty simple,” says Greenane. “We have a return loop in a closed system going back to the roof. There’s just water in the loop but you can run a 17 per cent glycol mix if it’s in a frost area. The piping is insulated coming back from the roof. The loop goes past an expansion tank and a pressure relief valve into a titanium heat exchanger and then a return loop via a pump back to the roof. The return loop is normally not insulated because we want to cool the PV panels.” A common misconception is that the hotter the PV panels the better they work, but that is not the case. “For every degree rise in ambient temperature above 25 degrees you actually lose 0.4 per cent efficiency,” he says. “So by keeping it cool we’re maintaining its efficiency. The panels generally run at about 25 degrees

above ambient, so on a 25 degree day, your panels will be 50 degrees. In some instances we’ve heard of them running at close to 70 degrees. So it’s not performing because it’s too hot.” So not only does the pool water get warmed by the thermal loop, the PV panels cool down and work more efficiently. The system incorporates Solar Edge inverters made in Sweden by an Israeli company. “Normally if you have half the array shaded it can effectively close the whole system down,” he says. “But these inverters isolate the panels to optimise the output.” Greenane says they use a fraction of the roof space: the equation is 1kW of PV for 10kL of pool water. This roof has 2kW – ten panels in total. And the temperature can be controlled by the length of time the water is on the roof. “The longer the water’s in the panel, the more heat it picks up. So we can manipulate the flow rate to vary the temperature,” says Greenane. “It can even be used to cool pools in tropical climates.” Contact: www.solimpeks.com.au Go to splashmagazine.com.au to see a video of Toby Greenane explaining about the panels.

Greenane with installers from Solar Pro

The specialised inverter enables shaded areas to be isolated, so a partially shaded array can still function effectively

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commercial news

Aquatics

Commercial

news Swimming keeps you young ��58 Love in a water park ��58 A fun day at Chimelong ��59 Pool power bills slashed �60 Tender of the month ��61 National tender data ��61 Global news ��62

Software helps lifesavers ��62 Swim Australia awards � 62 Aquatic networking ��63 Osaka’s 800m pool ��63 US suction standard review ��63 Cool pool in alpine resort ��64 Lessons from Virginia ��66 Fit for a pharaoh ��70

Industry moves

Free swimming as Prince Alfred celebrates delayed upgrade Sydney’s upgraded Prince Alfred Park Pool has opened with an offer of free entry for six months to appease the community after long delays. Lord Mayor Clover Moore admits the community had exercised considerable patience, but says they can now enjoy new pool. “Residents, visitors and workers have been incredibly patient as issues including unusually high rainfall and the discovery of soil contamination delayed the new pool,” she says. “To say thanks to the community, this fully-accessible pool will have free entry for six months. “The pool will be open all-year round, providing fantastic views of the city skyline while swimmers do their laps in heated water.” The pool upgrade is the first major public building designed by Potts Point-based practice Neeson Murcutt Architects. Established by Rachel Neeson and her late partner Nicholas Murcutt in 2004, the practice has since exhibited their work at the Venice Biennale (in 2006 and 2008) and received numerous awards from the Australian Institute of Architects. Murcutt tragically died in 2011 as the project was gearing up for construction and a small tribute to him has been installed within the pool surroundings. “It is an irreconcilable disappointment that Nick will never see the project complete – although he knew exactly how it would be, how it would delight,” says Neeson. “Nick’s zestful enthusiasm and dogged dedication will be remembered by all and his memory cast as a ghostly grey shadow on the smallest skylight, visible against the sky from the Chalmers Street entrance. These wonderfully over-scaled elements are pure Nick.” The pool has a new café with direct access to the

Students from Redfern Jarjum College try out the Prince Alfred Park Pool on opening day

park, sky-lit change rooms and tiles that gently reflect water and natural light, tiered seating built into a mound within the park and bright-yellow shade umbrellas that dot the landscape like wildflowers. The building has the biggest green roof of its kind in Sydney, topped with indigenous flowers and meadow grasses that fold over the café and change rooms. It uses best practice filtration and monitoring, stormwater harvesting, water-saving fixtures, energy-efficient lighting and heating. With construction, design and staff costs to finish the project, and liquidated damages due to late completion, the expected final total is $20.5 million – a six per cent variation on the estimated $19.3 million original tender in 2010. Local artist Sonia van de Haar from art and architecture company, Lymesmith, worked closely with Neeson Murcutt Architects, the council and engineers to design a public art project on the site. Shades of Green features a collection of chimneys dipped in colour to blend into the sky and surrounding park.

Swimming controversy

Nettlefold quits over comments “made in jest” In yet another controversy to rock the Australian swimming establishment, Swimming Australia (SA) President Barclay Nettlefold has resigned after complaints of verbal harassment were lodged by two staff members relating to separate incidents. He was accused of making inappropriate remark towards a female staff member in a lift at the Australian Championships in Adelaide in May. Initially, SA was satisfied with setting up an investigation, but when a second similar complaint was made in early June they stood him down. Nettlefold then resigned later the same day.

Nettlefold said that the comments in question were made with humorous intent, but ultimately were not aligned with the culture Swimming Australia is trying to promote. “There were some private comments made in jest to my colleagues recently not consistent with the standards expected of me: standards I have urged to be incorporated into the future culture of swimming in Australia,” he said. The allegations only relate to comments; there are no complaints of inappropriate physical behaviour, a distinction SA CEO Mark Anderson was keen to point out.

Neil Shaw’s parting advice: technology should lead regulation

Neil Shaw is retiring on June 28 from his role as the manager of the General Environmental Health Unit after 38 years with NSW Health. He is well-known and highly respected in the aquatics and commercial sector of the NSW industry. He has been regarded for his clear talking, a rare gift in the public sector, and has overseen considerable change and many improvements in the regulation of public swimming pools in NSW. He has offered a few parting words as he leaves the industry and moves on to retirement. When I started with the Health Commission of NSW in March 1975, public pools operated on “marginal chlorination” of free chlorine at 0.4 mg/L. Most pools were operated on chlorine gas disinfection. Local councils considered that a pool would be provided as a service to its ratepayers with minimal entrance fee. The government provided free learn to swim programs through primary schools to ensure that all kids could swim 25 yards. The health system told us that there were many episodes of kids with glue ear from pools caused by Pseudamonas aeruginosa infection. There were very few other types of public pools other than at high class hotels or special institutions. There was no automatic dosing and the only things electronic were clocks and pumps. Photocopiers using thermo paper were just gaining popularity. Hand held calculators had only become popular five years beforehand. No computers, no mobile phones, no emails, no remote controls (how did we survive?). The media were well behaved. Then in the ’80s, information was received from US authors about operating pools on breakpoint chlorination at 1 mg/L and so it was advocated by NSW Health. Trials of ozone and UV light began but were not very successful. Technology improved and has been the driver ever since. Microbiological enumeration improved as did chemistry analysis technology. Experiments

and surveys allowed the development of better bacteriological criteria together with a better understanding of pool chemistry. Pool operations gave way to pool and recreation management. Cryptosporidium could be isolated in 1990 and this changed epidemiological understanding of pools in its transmission. Pool improvement still seems to be technology driven with a huge range of controllers and equipment available to the pool operator. Some crazy disinfection systems were proposed and some gained popularity in the private pool sector, creating headaches for regulators while little responsibility was taken by the distributor/manufacturer. As science and technology improved so did the scientific understanding of pool operations, but we are still way behind Europe culturally. Cold climate populations shower thoroughly and toilet before entering a pool. Warm climate populations do not and this hinders pool chemistry by the creation of disinfection by-products and insufficient research is being done worldwide. Pool hall ventilation still needs to improve. Training has greatly improved with nationally recognised subjects and registered training organisations charged with their delivery. Possible future pool regulation will trend more toward automatic controllers and further minimising combined chlorine. However, improvements in the pool industry need to be technology driven rather than regulation driven in the search for the truly “healthy” pool that the consumer desires. The regulator seems to be the expert and I would like to see greater industry leadership; perhaps an industry expert subcommittee that considers new technologies. Linkages could be made to the US NSPF. I would like to see greater cohesion in the Australian pool industry. There should be an Australian Standard for public swimming pools with less reliance on regulators.

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In Brief Western Australian based firm Donovan Payne Architects has won a competitive tender for the refurbishment of 40-yearold Bold Park Aquatic Centre in Floreat, Western Australia. Kim Donovan says the tender was won not only based on the firm’s expertise in aquatic centre design but also because of their familiarity with the existing centre. The scope includes retiling and renovation of the existing 50m pool, a pool concourse, an extensive solar collector array in combination with energy efficient heat pump technology, concept designs for a new leisure pool and the re-design of amenities. Ballarat’s Wendouree outdoor swimming pool is to be closed following declining patronage and a $17m investment by the council in the Ballarat Aquatic Centre, due to include a new, muchneeded indoor 50m pool. The site of Bundaberg’s first public swimming pool (built way back in 1896) is being auctioned off. The baths’ brick foundations are still visible but the site is a mystery to most residents who were unaware of the piece of history in Woondooma and Tantitha Streets. The baths were 60 feet in length and 20 foot wide, with water drawn from springs on the south side of the creek. Neptune Benson has been selected to supply its Defender filtration system to the new Wet’n’Wild Sydney waterpark. This will be the fifth Village Roadshow property to use the system.

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Entertainment

Introvert comes of age in waterpark

Coming of age stories have been set in country towns, tropical islands, movie theatres and now at last, a water park. The Way, Way Back is a new independent release due out through Palace Pictures in Australia in August – just as the swimming season gets primed. It is the story of Duncan (Liam James), an introverted 14-year-old who comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park (Sam Rockwell) and the misfits who work there. It also stars Aussie Toni Collette and the US Office’s Steve Carell. The movie had a good pedigree. The writer/director team won an Oscar for the Descendants and the film is produced by the people who made cult classic, Juno. It recently screened at the Sydney Film Festival.

The colourful octopus slide Waterparks

A fun day at Chimelong

Liam James and Sam Rockwell star in this aquatic comedy-drama

Asia’s largest waterpark has added a raft of new Polin rides and activities for youngsters. These include a mini version of the Turbolance slide, a kidsized wide slide, a mini pirate ship, an octopus slide and a cobra slide.

Wellbeing

Swimming keeps you young Dr Joel Stager of the Counsilman Center for the Science of Swimming, based at the Indiana University in Bloomington, has led a team examining the benefits of physical activity on healthy older people. To investigate this, Stager examined the potential biomarkers of ageing, physical function, health, quality of life, and physical activity patterns within the Master Swimmers population. He found that the Master Swimmers were happy and healthier than their peers. The primary purpose of the research was to determine whether or not individuals who can be described as highly active have a higher quality of life and a more favourable functional and health status. Physiological data (biomarkers of ageing) were collected at the 2004 United States Masters Swimming Championships (USMSC) where the subjects also completed a questionnaire

describing their swimming history, physical activity, health and quality of life. Comparisons between the general population and members of a highly fit competitive population suggest that despite similarities in height and weight, the active population exhibits numerous traits consistent with optimal ageing outcomes such as retention of pulmonary function, muscle mass and strength, and a more favourable blood lipid and blood pressure profile. Focusing

on the relationship between physical activity patterns, health, and skeletal muscle mass, the maintenance of muscle mass and strength may be a key determinant in an individual’s quality of life as they age. This maintenance may allow for a higher level of physical function leading to potential independence across their lifespans. The USMS population averaged 4.7 (+/- 4.4) hours moderate and 7.1 (+/- 5.5) hours of vigorous activity per week.

Furthermore, both males and females had significantly higher scores across all dimensions of quality of life when compared to the general population. Future plans include the monitoring of swim training and other daily physical activity via an accelerometer. Subjects will wear an accelerometer throughout their daily activity while participating in swimming activities. This will allow for an examination of their daily activity patterns to determine if it is the swim training and/or general activity patterns that lead to a more favourable profile. In other words, does structured exercise lead to an increase in physical activity outside of training sessions when compared to the general population and what impact may this have on health and well-being? Go to splashmagazine for QuickLink to the information page at Indiana University.

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Energy efficiency

Pool power bills slashed by drive change

Tender of the month North Burnett Regional Council

Lismore City Council’s two swimming pools will use 35 to 40 per cent less power following the installation of carbon reduction measures jointly paid for by the council and the Federal Government. Noel Cottam from Simplex Aquatics in Coffs Harbour travelled to Lismore to change the variable speed drives used on the pool pumps – a simple retrofitting exercise that will save thousands of dollars and slash greenhouse gas emissions. “When these pools were designed power wasn’t as big an issue as it is today,” says Cottam. “These days pools should have this as a standard feature.” Changing the variable speed drives is one of several measures paid for by a $300,000 Federal Government grant to cut 12 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each week and save hundreds of thousands of dollars in electricity costs. The council’s contribution will be paid back within three years thanks to the huge cost savings.

Noel Cottam from Simplex Aquatics adjusting the drives

Expression of Interest: Contract 2317-2012/13-TTB-39 Queensland’s North Burnett Regional Council is seeking an experienced contractor for a period of three years with an option for a further two years. Essential minimum qualifications required are: • Current First Aid Certificate • Pool Life Saving Certificate • Queensland Blue Card for Working with Children • Current Pool Plant Operators Certificate Applicants must have a strong commitment to serving the community and teaching children to swim. An attractive remuneration/lessee package will be negotiated with the successful applicant. Further information on the position can be obtained by contacting Mr Andrew Jackson, Director of Community and Cultural Services on 1300 696 272. Please send your written submission (including covering letter, resume and details of qualifications) to: CEO, PO Box 390, Gayndah, Qld 4625 Quote “EOI 2317-2012/13-TTB-39” on the front of the envelope. Applications close at 5.00pm on Friday, 28 June 2013.

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Life saving

Global news

British media is reporting that two Egyptian lifeguards have been arrested after a five-year-old English girl drowned at Sharm el-Sheikh resort. The father had seen the lifeguards around the pool but they were absent when the tragedy stuck. The father had gone to buy ice creams and drinks and could not resuscitate her when he returned. A staggering $US500,000 anonymous donation has enabled a small US town to keep its local pool. Waynetown has a population of about 900 people, and the community pool has united them for 60 years, even bringing in new townsfolk. Now it will continue thanks to the donation that covers more than half the cost of an essential upgrade. Justin Bieber has booked an entire waterpark for himself in Dubai. While it might be understandable that he doesn’t want to queue for the waterslides along with thousands of screaming girls, some feel it is a little excessive that he has the entire park to himself. In more tales of pop star excess, he recently found himself in trouble after trying to sneak his pet monkey onboard a flight from Germany to the US.

Computer detection helps save swimmer in Blacktown For the first time in Australia a drowning has been averted thanks to the assistance of the Poseidon computer-based drowning detection system. The near-drowning incident occurred at Blacktown Leisure Centre, Stanhope, in Sydney, where the first Poseidon system was installed six years ago. The system alerted lifeguards to the danger and they responded immediately, rescuing the swimmer who was at the bottom of the pool. This technology is currently installed in more than 220 pools in Europe, the US and Japan, and 25 people are able to thank the Poseidon system for helping lifeguards save their lives. The Poseidon system is a computer-based drowning detection system dedicated to assisting lifeguards: it sends them alerts on a real-time basis

Safety

and is able to give them the exact coordinates and location of the drowning person in the pool. The aim of this technology is to minimise the immersion time, in order to prevent brain injuries or fatalities. The duty of a lifeguard is difficult in a public swimming environment due to glare, the inconsistency of water, the challenge of maintaining a sharp attention at all times and, of course, the unpredictability of aquatic patrons. The system is used to minimise the risk involved in this environment and to provide the best possible tool to assist lifeguards in the pursuit of safety. Go to splashmagazine.com.au to see a video of the system in action.

Awards

Swim Australia hosts annual dinner Swim Australia feted the high achievers of their nearly 600 registered swim schools at the 15th Annual Swim Australia Dinner in June on the Gold Coast. The following individuals and swim schools were awarded: Outstanding Supporters Award: Julia Ham, EnergyAustralia, Vorgee, Australian Unity, Zodiac, Nivea. Outstanding Community Service Awards: Emma

Lawrence, Tracey Ayton, McKeon Swim School, Blue Dolphin Swim Centre, Paul Sadler Swimland, Pat Taylor. Best Swim School Printed Material: Aqualogan. Best Swim School Promotion: Shawn’s Swim School. Best Swim School SwimSAFER Promotion: Sue Pryor Swim School. Best Swim School Newsletter: Fairholme

Aquatics Swim School. Best Swim School Pathways Promotion: Swimsations @ Lismore and Goonellabah. Best Swim School Website: Blue Dolphin Swim Centre. Best Swim School Team Builder: Blue Dolphin Swim Centre. Best Swim School Marketing: Paul Sadler Swimland. Most Environmentally Friendly Swim School: Healthways Swim School.

US suction standard under review Simon Hall from Blue Fitness explains about online strategies for aquatic centres

Events

Aquatic networking at ALFA breakfast

ALFA conducted a networking breakfast in April in conjunction with the Australian Fitness and Health Expo at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour. Simon Hall from Blue Fitness and Loren Bartley, who represented both ALFA and her own online consulting company, Impactiv8, provided attendees with insights into the online world through their joint presentation “Social Media For Leisure Facility Managers”. In the captivating presentation they shared examples of how leisure facilities can use social media to engage with current members, acquire new members and engage with their wider community. The attendees acquired many useful tips as to how they can achieve those objectives using the power of social media. You can download the visual summary of their presentation at splashmagazine.com.au on the QuickLinks tab.

The US organisation, the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP) has put out a revision draft of the ANSI/ APSP-7 2006 Standard for Suction Entrapment Avoidance in Swimming Pools, Wading Pools, Spas, Hot Tubs, and Catch Basins. APSP is seeking the approval for the revisions under the accreditation procedures with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The standard covers design and performance criteria for circulation systems including components, devices, and related technology installed to protect against entrapment hazards in residential and public swimming pools, wading pools, inground spas, catch pools, and aquatic recreation facilities. This standard applies to new and, when retrofitting, existing installations. Meanwhile, a long-running US legal case involving the entrapment death of six-year-old Zachary Archer Cohn has settled. Previously the pool builder had faced criminal charges. Now the parents of the boy have settled with all defendants to a total of $40 million. The entire sum is reported to be going to the ZAC Foundation, a charity created in the child’s name.

Just in the planning stages at the moment, the giant canal pool in Osaka Civil projects

Osaka plans 800-metre pool An ambitious plan to build an 800-metre swimming pool has been proposed by former Economic Planning Agency head Taichi Sakaiya – a man known locally as the Godfather of Osaka politics. The plan involves converting the Dotonbori Canal which is in a nightlife district of the city. A boardwalk has already been included to make the area more family-friendly, and hawkers sell a variety of goods and Japanese street food.

The Swim Australia team with guests Jodie Henry and Libby Trickett

A private company has been formed to fund the conversion, with the aim of it being completed by 2015.

England’s chance for a 6ha $575 million Kuwaiti-funded waterpark has foundered after contaminated soil was found on the East Sussex site in Newhaven.

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Winter or summer, the pool is amazing

Cool pool warms alpine resort

he Cambrian Spa is an alpine resort located in the heart of the picturesque Swiss mountain resort of Adelboden. Visitors to its bracing environment use it in summer as base for bushwalking – there are 200 kilometres of hiking trails – mountain biking, and the nearby adventure activities of bungy jumping, abseiling and paragliding. In the winter, there is skiing of course as well as snow hiking and even dog sledding. But one of the main attractions to the spa is the magnificent outdoor pool that enables visitors to relax in the warm water while gazing at the alpine peaks, or even soaking while the snows drift down. It was built as a hotel at the turn of the 20th century, but was completely renovated in 2007 with the aim of creating a relaxed but luxurious hotel. It has a contemporary design but retains many original features, including a top floor of cosy eaves rooms that have been turned into duplexes. It has many bars of course, including the rustic-styled Scott’s Bar, and in winter the very popular Ice Bar where guests and locals share shots of schnapps after a day on the slopes. The restaurant is famed for its New Alpine cuisine (a fresh interpretation of mountain classics, using local seasonal produce) in an elegant setting, with the possibility to eat outside in summer. The resort includes the outdoor heated pool with water jets and stunning mountain vistas, an indoor lap pool, a sauna, a Turkish bath, rain showers, a Kneipp foot bath and relaxation area, as well as a well-equipped gym. The outdoor pool is treated with chlorine, ozone and UV, and is heated by a district heating system. Contact: www.thecambrianadelboden.com/en n

Visitors relax in the warm water while gazing the alpine peaks

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Lessons learnt in Virginia; and what exactly are genotoxicity and mutagenicity? By Alan Lewis

ach year, the World Aquatic Health Conferences (WAHC) gathers momentum and exposes ever wider areas of research and technologies in the field of aquatic science and swimming pool operation. The National Swimming Pool Foundation (NSPF) is led by Thomas M. Lachocki PhD whose style and talent pervades the quality and genial atmosphere of the conferences. As the chief executive officer he has improved and expanded the spheres of activity the foundation engages in. Above all, with his own knowledge and expertise in this industry, he has placed great emphasis on scientific

Tom Lachocki, NSPF CEO

Manolis Kogevinas

enlightenment and health and safety issues, which encourage enjoyment and add much value to the recreational water field. Each stream in this conference was expanded in 2012 to the extent that it was indeed difficult to choose which presentation to attend – because of the exceptionally high standard of all the speakers and the fact that several important streams ran simultaneously in different rooms. But one presentation stood out for the level of knowledge and the quality and volume of the research behind it, as well as its exotic uniqueness. Manolis Kogevinas MD PhD attained his doctorate in epidemiology at the University of London in 1989. He currently co-directs the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) in Barcelona which is among the largest research bodies in Environmental Epidemiology worldwide. Since epidemiology has evolved as a vital adjunct to the modern science of public health, it is worth making the effort to try and follow the intricacy of this presentation. Everyone in the industry should be aware of the manner in which this science impacts on the aquatic industry and its importance. Without this research, we might be actually harming the industry by default. Water disinfection systems and their healthy maintenance are vital. By and large the sport of swimming is acknowledged as one of the better sports because it removes impact on the body, while nearly every other sport can hardly avoid it. But if we do not ensure that disinfection has no downside to it, the industry will surely suffer. Kogevinas delves deep into the realms of medicine, biology and chemistry to extricate what is relevant so those who use aquatic facilities can avoid harm.

The development of epidemiology

We need to go back to an outbreak of cholera in 1854, when Dr John Snow mapped the addresses in London where the residents had died. In those days, the public water was supplied to street pumps and because of the cluster of deaths around the Broad Street pump, Snow began to suspect that the water it delivered could be a source of the epidemic. When he had the handle removed and used chlorine to disinfect the water, the epidemic came to a halt. Further investigation exposed a broken sewer pipe leaking contaminated water into the water source of that pump. This event is considered today to be origin of the science of epidemiology, even though Snow’s methods of preventing further outbreaks were not accepted until well after his death (1858). It seems that science has always been well ahead of common belief and acceptance

– witness our own reticence to accept global warming and the effect of man-made greenhouse gases today. Modern day bodies like the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) in the USA now play the role that Snow pioneered in the 19th century. The principal dilemma that an aquatic epidemiologist faces is how to find the ideal balance between disinfection – the protection of bathers from water-borne pathogens as well as those carried by other bathers into the pool – and the harmful disinfectant by products (DBPs). Kogevinas asks: “Can we have clean drinking water and pool water, minimising chemical exposures?” What is the balance between risk and benefit? Those are the questions that lead us to the need for enormous investment in research institutions such as CREAL in Spain and the CDC in the USA. The “us” in the previous sentence does not appear to include Australia. Federal governments over the past few decades have continuously cut budgets of our leading research institutions and the equivalent of the CDC in Australia is now but a shadow of its former self. This is clearly one area where Australian governments have, and still do, let us down. We must rely on findings in other countries which do invest heavily in epidemiology, to provide insight into the questions of balance that scientific peer-reviewed research demands. The recent confession of a well-known competitive swimmer in the US that “It is okay to go” in the pool, based on the premise that “scientists” say urine in pool water is harmless to public health, is evidence yet again of the denial of the message that the best research is trying to impart. Hundreds of research papers have dealt with the issues arising from DBPs in swimming pools. It is only in the last decade or so that more attention has been focussed on genotoxicity and mutagenicty. It behoves us to try and follow just how reliable and disconcerting the findings are in relation to these issues. While chlorination disinfection by-products were first detected in 1974 there are still literally hundreds of by-products which have not been identified let alone researched for their toxicity.

Genotoxicity

This term relates to a chemical agent which causes damage to DNA molecules (the carriers of heredity information) in genes. This damage may cause mutations, tumours and the like. Such damage can be repaired – or it may be relatively innocuous or may not even result in a mutation. The broad definition includes: 1. Induced events similar to those involved in carcinogenesis; 2. Indirect surrogate events such as sister chromatid exchange (SCE) which often relate to formation of tumours; 3. DNA damage which may eventually lead to mutations. Genotoxic substances induce changes to the DNA sequence and structure which is usually indicated by a single or double strand damage of the DNA double helix. That is why we are concerned with products (DBPs) which occur in water – including pool water, which have been shown to adversely affect mammals (including humans).

Dr John Snow

Mutagenicity

This refers to the induction of permanent transmissible changes in the structure of the genetic material of cells or organisms. These changes (mutations) may involve a single gene or a block of genes. Harmful mutations fall into two broad categories: cancer and birth defects. Genotoxic effects that kill the cell are referred to as cytotoxic, which stop there and do not cause cancer nor inherited birth defects. All mutagenic substances are genotoxic, by definition but not the other way around. Part of the work of CREAL focuses on the toxicity to bacteria or human genes by the plethora of disinfection by-products that can develop from the common halogen compounds of chlorine, bromine, iodine and fluorine, which are in common use in potable water or pool water treatments. So far science has only be able to study about one quarter of the DBPs which have been identified in pools (Zwiener et al, 2007), and there are several hundreds of DBPs which are thought of as possible derivatives of the chlorinated disinfectants (Richardson et al, 2007) some of which have not even been identified as yet. That is why much of pool water chemistry is still contested among the experts and it remains unresolved as to whether certain disinfection agents are too toxic to drink, or shower or swim in.

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For example, international scientific research led by Dr Kogevinas and published in 2010 studied the genotoxic effects in 49 swimmers exposed to DBPs in a Barcelona indoor swimming pool. Each of these non-smoking volunteers was screened for eligibility. The study was conducted in May, June, September and October of 2007. This carefully designed study focused on the effects of swimming in a selected 25-metre indoor pool where these four significant trihalomethanes (THMs) were commonly present: Chloroform (CHCl3), Chlorodibromomethane (CHClBr2 ), Bromoform (CHBr3) and Bromodichloromethane (CHCl2Br). The subjects were asked not to swim one week before they did a 40-minute swim (the average time spent by non-competitive swimmers) in this pool. Blood samples, exhaled air and THMs were collected one hour before the swim and again after it; and urine samples were collected two hours after swimming and again two weeks later. Personal information on each swimmer was gathered from the questionnaire they completed regarding: age, education, occupation, basic residential information, detailed water-related habits (ingestion of fluids, showers, baths, swimming pools, etc), other physical activity, medical history, drugs, lifestyle and any recent diseases. Exposure to THMs was measured in the pool hall air, and exhaled breadth before and after swimming. THMs in the air and the water were recorded at each swimming session. Each sample was tested against four biomarkers in relation to the concentration of the four THMs above (before and after): A. A standard recognised method for measuring the THMs in exhaled breath; B. The blood samples were analysed immediately for peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and micro nuclei (MN) were scored for each sample over 100 blood cells selected randomly. This was in order to establish DNA damage or potential damage. C. MN analysis in urothelial cells was also conducted from the urine samples (before and after). The frequency of MN and their total number was established for each subject. Cancers that occur in epithelial layers of the ureter (urinary tract) and the bladder are called carcinomas. D. Urine mutagenicity was evaluated by comparing the samples taken before and after the swim and testing using internationally accepted procedures. Because the bladder is in contact with urine for extended periods, chemicals that become concentrated in the urine can cause bladder cancer. Nicotine, nitrosamines, DBPs and other similar volatile chemicals have been associated with cancer of the bladder. This is the first major study of DBP genotoxicity among people who swam in chlorinated pools. As such it should be appreciated that, while it can be considered typical of Spanish public swimming pools, (and the Barcelona water supply in particular, is high in bromides); the source water for every city or even for every area within a major city might be quite different. For example, like many continents, Australian source water can differ markedly from city to city. Consider the following THM content in drinking water comparison from 1998 (Simpson; Hayes):

City Newcastle Adelaide

CHCl3 75% 2%

CHBrCl2 19% 20%

CHBr2Cl 5% 45%

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Memorial to Dr Snow in Broad Street (now Broadwick Street) London

Kogevinas concludes that exposure to brominated THMs through swimming in chlorinated pools was associated with increases in genotoxicity while chloroform was not. The author suggests that the findings of Richardson et al (2010) who found concentrations of nitrogen-containing DBPs (for example, nitrosamines) were higher in pool water than in drinking water is an indication to regulators to research and restrict the presence of genotoxic and mutagenic DBPs more thoroughly, so as to avoid proliferation of potential adverse health risks. The final statement insists that the indications are that the positive health effects of swimming could be increased by reducing the potential health risks of pool water. In a future article I will dwell on how these volatile DBPs can and are being minimised through advanced oxidation processes available in the world today, and will also compare the Kogevinas presentation with similar other outstanding presentations from the 2012 WAHC.n June/July 2013â&#x20AC;&#x192; SPLASH!â&#x20AC;&#x192; 69

*NSW Permit Number LTPS/13/03512. Full terms and conditions at www.spasaconvention.org.au.

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Fit for a

pharaoh

ABOVE: The water is now said to “sparkle”

LEFT: The lazy river is one of the major drawcards of the club MIDDLE: Banks of 18 MultiCyclones prefilter the water RIGHT: Six Lacron filters were installed together with Waterco bobbinwound filters filled with Glass Pearls filter media

he Pharaoh’s Club is one of the United Arab Emirates’ premier and largest fitness centres, located inside the Pyramids Wafi, part of the renowned Wafi City shopping and entertainment complex in Dubai. A major drawcard of the centre is the outdoor, freeform lazy river and swimming pool, designed for relaxation, aqua aerobics classes, swimming laps and professional swimming lessons. In 2012 the club made the decision to upgrade the filtration system of the 10-year-old, 1600m3 pool. The club manager spoke with leading Dubai swimming pool maintenance company, Those Pool Guys. Those Pool Guys determined the filters were near the end of their working life and needed to be replaced as the existing filtration system, which consisted mainly of metal fabricated tanks, was leaking and the filtration quality was very poor. They contacted the UK office of Australian-based international swimming pool equipment manufacturer, Waterco, with the purpose of achieving a high level of filtration without having to change the existing set up of the plant room, while conserving water. After all

Dubai is a dry city in more ways than one. The solution was to use Lacron 42” horizontal filters along with a number of Waterco bobbin-wound filters, Glass Pearls filter media and banks of Waterco MultiCyclone pre-filters. The combination reduced water consumption as well as improved water quality. “The Lacron HZC filter is specifically designed for installations which require a high filtration surface area,” says Tony Fisher, managing director of Waterco Europe. “The main tank structure is made from extremely hardwearing glass reinforced polyester, and the unique lateral under-drain and looped header design ensures optimum water filtration and balanced fluidisation of the filter bed during backwashing. “The benefits of the combined systems have been significant, both aesthetically and financially. There has been a major reduction in the club’s water and chemical bills, and water clarity has been greatly enhanced,” says Fisher. “According to the club manager, club members have even commented on how much better the water quality looks and that it now ‘sparkles’.” Contact: www.waterco.com.au n

SPLASH! has reinvigorated its digital communication with a new website, redesigned newsletter and a targeted social media program. The website has a more visual focus and includes more videos, a dedicated Asian section and is fully integrated with social media including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. Archived editions of the magazine are downloadable (apart from the current edition) in a new interactive format, making them easier to peruse. Go to splashmagazine.com.au and have a look.

Always stay in touch with SPLASH! 70 SPLASH! June/July 2013

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new products

Photo: Dan Gayfer Field Design, Dean Bradley Photography

new products

Retro style in wire

The ultra-stylish retro furniture by Tait perfectly complements this urban poolscape. The Jak + Jil setting includes a 750mmdiameter Jil table with a spun metal top, and two Jak wire chairs.

There are 20 different ranges in the Tait collection – each defined by a distinctive personality and an innate sense of fun. Tait has remained flexible and small enough to be responsive to the market. They have continually introduced unique products that are authentic and thoroughly resolved in design, often years in conception and prototyping.

Contact: www.madebytait.com.au; (02) 9310 1333

African renaissance

The Al Salvador garden bench comes from the Thirdworld Trading Co which is new to the Australian market.

Stylish waiting

Ideal for aquatic centres or parks, the Istu bench seat provides practical seating with a sense of style. The organic concrete form combined with either timber or upholstery makes a clear statement. Look, sit and love. Available in custom colours and finishes. This one is in grey concrete with recycled jarrah

It has launched an exclusive brand representing award-winning and distinctly African furniture with global appeal. Thirdworld exclusively represents those products which are able to hold their own alongside internationally recognised names and brands, and also offers a bespoke service.

Contact: popconcrete.com.au; (07) 3852 4647

Contact: www.thirdworld.com.au; (02) 9337 3548

Tripoli bench

The Tripoli Bench comes from Bokja – a Lebanese furniture company. It is more of a chaise lounge for the indoor part of an indoor/outdoor environment.

Bokja has an amazing array of furniture that blends ancient Levant flair with modern European style and practicality. They have representation globally but currently don’t have dealers in Australia. Contact: www.bokjadesign.com; info@bokjadesign.com

Distributors wanted for Sunlover’s quick-install panels

Sunlover Heating wants Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australian distributors and installers for its new range of Rigid Solar Heating Panels. “Rigid Solar Heating Panels are easy to sell to pool designers and installers because they are light and easy to handle,” says MD Rohan London.

Keep on the grass

For the past 21 years Tait has been an integral part of the Australian contemporary furniture vernacular. Proudly Australian-owned and staunchly 100 per cent Australian made, Tait has been designing, prototyping and manufacturing versatile products that enliven both outdoor and indoor spaces in commercial, hospitality and residential settings. In addition to their in-house design team headed by managing principal and sheet metal craftsman Gordon Tait and creative principal Susan Tait, they have a strong history of mentoring and collaborating with talented local industrial designers.

“There are fewer connections to join, which means fitters spend much less time on the roof for each installation. We’ve been told by some of our installers that they are completing rigid panel installations in under a day versus a day or more for traditional systems. This delivers improved profit margins for designers and installers,” he says. US-made by internationally renowned Techno-Solis to their patented design, the robust product delivers long life on the roof and is certified by the USA Solar Rating and Certification Corporation and the Florida Solar Energy Centre.

This is their Icon Tray designed by Gordon Tait with a Tait Floor Cushion.

The Rigid Solar Panels will be supplied to the new distributors from Sunlover warehouses in each state. “This means orders are only a phone call way and we will be very competitively priced,” says London.

Contact: www.madebytait.com.au; (02) 9310 1333

Contact: rohan@sunloverheating.com.au; (03) 9887 2131

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new products

Enclosures on the rise in NZ Bollards alight

This is the latest in their 4WD series.

The new Zodiac MX6 is a high performance suction cleaner that provides a thorough and aggressive clean.

The bollard is made from 304 grade stainless steel, so it will be impervious to the weather and can light the pool owner’s way around the garden, no matter what the season.

Contact: www.zodiac.com.au

Contact: www.beaconlighting.com.au; 1300 BEACON

Contact: www.poolenclosures.co.nz; www.thepoolenclosurecompany.com.au

The new robot is the Zodiac V4 4WD. Zodiac says it is equipped with the smartest technology available today, making pool cleaning easier, ultra efficient and giving pool owners the cleanest pool on the block.

Zodiac’s second new cleaner is the little brother of the highly popular Zodiac MX8 suction cleaner.

Envirolux Bollards can easily light up walkways and garden beds thanks to their two watt LED lights.

IN-GROUND POOL COVER STORAGE Harness the power of the sun

Heatseeker Oku Solar Pool Heating

25 Y

Phone: 1300 787 978 www.supremeheating.com.au

• Blanket is totally invisible when not in use and stores out of sight • Reduces evaporation

E AR

• Quick and easy single person operation • Blanket extends and retracts in one minute

PRO

The Cleardeck advantage:

Photograph: Perspective Pools & Landscapes

• Built to last - 25 year product warranty • High density polyethylene panels • Advanced German technology • Cockatoo and hail proof • High pressure rating and thermal efficiencies NT Y

WA R

• Easily installed in any new and most existing pools of any size or shape • Can be installed in any type of deck material • No motors, tracks, cables or pulleys Tel: 08 9408 0955 Fax: 08 9408 0944 Web: www.cleardecksystems.com.au E-mail: sales@waterblade.com.au

Heatseeker Oku

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CF9572

Zodiac has launched two new “super intelligent” pool cleaners: one robotic cleaner and one pressure cleaner.

The little brother

New Zealanders are beginning to appreciate the benefits of telescopic swimming pool enclosures, according to South Pacific Pool Enclosures (SPPE). This year SPPE has installed a range of enclosures from an 18m by 9.5m enclosure for All Seasons Holiday Park in Rotorua to a 6m by 3m enclosure for a backyard pool. The elderly clients who only swam five times in the previous year are now swimming at least once a day, according to SPPE. They are impressed with the heat retention and the ease of sliding the segments on and off the pool. SPPE is aligned with Alukov, one of Europe’s leading pool enclosure manufacturers.

Latest in four wheel drive

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Accurate pool

new products

shop water testing in just 60 seconds

Mondrian-inspired cladding

In a design inspired by Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian, a student entry at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS) incorporated Boral Cultured Stone cladding as a key design element.

LaMotte’s breakthrough WaterLink Spin® will revolutionise how you do your pool shop water testing. No longer do you have to sacrifice accuracy for speed. The laboratory-grade photometer allows you to analyse a sample of pool water in just 60 seconds.

One of four emerging garden designers chosen to participate in the Landscaping Victoria competition, Peta Donaldson of Mount Martha, Victoria, used Cultured Stone in Country Ledgestone Aspen to add dimension to her grid garden design. Boral Cultured Stone cladding has been cleverly engineered to look like traditional stone and is an affordable and adaptable manufactured stone product for internal and external projects.

Contact: www.boral.com.au

• • • •

Working on clean paving

High pressure cleaners are great for quickly cleaning paving as well as outdoor furniture, cars, boats, sheds, pathways, driveways, stonewalls and other surfaces.

You can combat those stubborn outdoor stains, mould and grimy spots with the Worx high pressure cleaner (HPC) range.

The Worx HPC range includes six cleaners ranging from the compact yet powerful WG602E to the WG605E. All Worx high pressure cleaners have a self-priming function.

Spend less time testing water and more time talking to customers. Print reports with results and recommendations using your chemicals. Do a more comprehensive analysis with 10 different parameters instead of the usual six. Three simple tests, no messy preparation means less operator error, with very little training required.

Contact us now for more information on (02) 9450 0466 or info@vendart.com.au for more information. Distributed exclusively by Vendart Pty Ltd PO Box 451 Pymble NSW 2073 Ph 02 9450 0466 Fax 02 9450 0755 www.vendart.com.au

Contact: www.worx.com

Hands-free chemical management

New Lovibond tester range

A new product line of pool testers has been released by the Lovibond water testing division of Tintometer. Based on the three-chamber tester, the range begins with the 4-in-1 test kit for determining the presence of free (active) chlorine, pH values, stabiliser (cyanuric acid) and alkalinity-M (carbonate hardness). The 5-in-1 kit also checks the presence of calcium hardness. The top of the range is the 6-in-1 three-chamber tester for determining acid demand.

Pentair’s Intellichem automated chemical management system ensures the water quality of domestic swimming pools. The Intellichem constantly monitors the pool pH and sanitising levels and then delivers just the right amount of chemicals to ensure the pool water quality is in the optimum condition.

All kits are available with alternative chlorine measurement ranges of 0.1 – 3.0 mg/l (low range) or 0.5 – 6.0 mg/l (high range).

The Intellichem utilises the Langelier Saturation Index calculator to let the pool owner now when the pool water may be in or out of balance. It can also work solo or independently of all other Pentair pool automation products to offer domestic swimming pool owners the type of advanced technology that is applied to the management of commercial installations.

Contact: www.lovibond.com

Contact: robert.sterland@pentair.com; (03) 9709 5839

Sparkling spas

US-based eco-friendly spa manufacturer, Diamond Spas, has launched a new website. Specialising in the custom fabrication of stainless steel and copper hot tubs, swimming pools and swim spas, Diamond Spas ships all of their products worldwide. In keeping with the company’s conviction of developing environmentally responsible products, all of Diamond Spas products are made from recycled sheet metal and are 100 per cent recyclable at the end of their lives.

www.aquamaid.com.au

Contact: www.diamondspas.com

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Aquamaid Pty Ltd 290 Boundary Road Braeside VIC 3195 Phone: 03 9580 9055 Fax: 03 9580 7156 Email: aquamaid@aquamaid.com.au

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Stainless steel revolution

Albatross Pools says its new stainless steel structure represents a revolution in the design and manufacture of its swimming pools.

Excavator keeps its wheels on the ground

Kiwi contractor Stuart Tarbotton knows that reliable and efficient machinery is essential. He recently added the new Terex TW-85 excavator to his equipment fleet precisely because of its wheeled configuration. “This means the equipment can be moved quickly from one task to another without having to load it on a float or being on tracks that are slow and can chew up the ground,” he says. “Also, the market had been missing a good machine of this size, and it was a perfect fit for our equipment line.” The TW-85 comes with an extra-wide blade for dozer applications as well as a wide range of proven working tools and attachments such as an auger, hydraulic hammer and a range of buckets and grabs.

Contact: www.terex.com; mp@ausvex.com.au

King’s Duck Solution the only all-natural deterrent for ducks. Ducks are creatures of habit and are most active at night.

Albatross has specialised in pre-engineered pools for nearly 50 years and has more than 15,000 happy clients across Victoria

Ducks will soon change their habit once the target area has been treated. Thousands of satisfied clients worldwide are testament to our product.

During that time, the pools have been made from galvanized steel. Now, Albatross has enhanced the product by constructing all pools from specially formulated chromiumenriched heavy-gauge stainless steel to ensure an indefinite shell life.

The pre-engineered stainless steel product is extremely versatile and can be constructed to almost any shape, size and design. Furthermore, it is suitable for almost any type of site and ground conditions, and as it can be totally self-supporting it is ideal for sloping blocks and elevated construction projects.

Recently promoted at Piscine SPLASH! Asia, Albatross says the response to this enhancement both domestically and internationally has been overwhelming. Albatross Pools are now exporting to several countries to meet the growing demand for this product and would welcome distributor enquiries from around Australia.

This unique product will introduce new clients to your shop with many returning year after year for a product that they know and trust.

Available from

www.ducksolution.com.au

Contact: www.albatrosspools.com.au

Over 80 Artisan Water Features Available

The I-Cleaner

The Robotic Pool Cleaning Company (RPCC) has released the I-Cleaner to the Australian market, made by the Hangzhou Gaoyue Technology Co – China’s leading manufacturer and exporter of Robotic Pool Cleaners.

The jet set

Wireless water tank gauge

JetPaks are modular spa jets that can be interchanged at any time now or in the future, delivering maximum massage versatility and allowing the owner to upgrade the spa’s jetting anytime.

The receiver can be located up to 100 metres away from the transmitter which means that tank owners will be able to track the rainwater level of their tank at a glance.

RPCC says the I-Cleaner is priced very competitively but that doesn’t mean there has been any compromise on quality.

The system eliminates up to 90 per cent of the plumbing and provides a thoroughly personalised spa experience.

Research suggests that when people see how much water they are using, they use less and this change in behaviour is sustained over time.

Contact: www.roboticpoolcleaning.com.au;1300 88 66 09

Contact: www.justspas.com.au

Contact: www.rainharvesting.com.au; 1800 067 744

Its key features are a powerful motor ensuring rapid and thorough floor and wall cleaning while pumping out a massive 300 lpm, a full-function remote control allowing pool owners to take complete control if they want, and a caddy enabling easy transport and storage. The robot can travel horizontally across walls as well as vertically.

Just Spas’ new Bullfrog Spa range combines the patented JetPak Therapy System, making them the only luxury Spas in the world equipped with the system.

Rain Harvesting has introduced wireless functionality for its Tank Gauging system, to allow tank owners to track their rainwater level from inside and outside the home.

Premier Designer & Manufacturer of Artisan Water Features & Specialty Fountain Accessories

www.FountainsUnique.com Connect with us

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The NEW Lovibond®

new products

PM600 Photometer

The ultimate photometer for pool testing

Stay informed

With order your for a MD6 0 30.9.1 0 before 3 a FR receive Wate EE Pool r (valu Sampler e $13 2.00)

Natural duck solution

King Connections says their new Duck Solution is the only all-natural deterrent for ducks.

Director Michael King says ducks are creatures of habit and are most active at night. Once the target area has been treated, they will soon change their habits. A second application may be necessary if many groups are visiting at different intervals.

eBook for planning

Neville Cox has just completed writing an eBook combining his more than 30 years’ experience in the swimming pool and landscaping industries with pool building advice from around the world. The book focusses on what the average pool buyer should consider when putting a pool area together to avoid disappointment. The final outcome was identifying five terrible mistakes that others have regretted making when organising their swimming pool project.

King says the product has thousands of satisfied customers worldwide.

The book is written in layman’s terms and comes with supportive illustrations, photos and real life examples.

Contact: www.ducksolution.com.au; 0402 944 888

Contact: www.easypoolplans.com

The PM 600 photometer brings pool testing to the next level for discerning pool operators. The ergonomic design enables users to select just one unit for accurate analysis of 13 parameters. For your nearest supplier of the Lovibond range of photometers and reagents please call Waterlilly Australia on 02 9798 9975.

AquaMATE® for Pool Shops Highlights • 13 test parameters • Hand-held and portable • Fully waterproof (IP68)* • Back-lit display • PC compatibility – stores up to 1000 results • Option for wireless data transfer to a PC • Assured Lovibond® accuracy • Self-contained in sturdy case with accessories

AquaMATE® is an ideal software tool for pool shop operators to measure pool parameters and propose the recommended treatments. Customizable for up to 9,999 customers and 99 pools per customer. Designed to enhance the functionality of the Lovibond® PM 600/620 photometers.

Keep abreast of the latest industry news with SPLASH!

It’s fASt and it’s free The SPLASH! Newsletter is a fortnightly email with the latest news and hot new products. Go to splashmagazine.com.au and subscribe for free. Are you on social media? Go to splashmagazine.com.au and click on your favourite social media platform to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn.

Savewater says refill it

In Australia, we have some of the cleanest water in the world piped right into our houses. Despite this convenience, we spend more than half a billion dollars on bottled water each year – and half of those bottles end up as landfill or litter. Contrast this to some of the world’s poorest communities who lack access to clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene – resulting in two million people dying from water-related diseases every year.

Blade drain

To change this behaviour, the Savewater Alliance is selling these refillable water bottles, with one dollar from every bottle helping WaterAid provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene to the world’s poorest communities.

The Blade shower drain is the latest fashion accessory from Aquabocci – who also makes swimming pool surrounds and landscaping drains. The Blade has taken two years to develop and features a 1200mm removable anodized alloy lid. It is available in three sleek colours: Matt Black, Titanium and GT Silver.

Contact: www.refillit.com.au

Contact: www.aquabocci.com; 0410 505 222

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