Swimming Pool Water in Mafraq City in Northern Jordan: Quality Evaluation
The objective of this study is to examine the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of swimming
pool water in Mafraq city, north of Jordan and the overall quality of the used water. Three public
swimming pools were selected from Mafraq city (Areef Pool (SW1), Teachers Club Pool (SW2) and
Anakeel Pool (SW3)) in order to analyze the physical, chemical and biological properties of their water
as well as determine their compliance with the Jordanian Standards for Swimming Pools Water. Sampling
was carried out weekly for eight successive weeks between July and August 2019 before bathing (after
disinfection) and after bathing and analyzed in Al al-Bayt University and Ministry of Environment
laboratories. The parameters used to evaluate the quality of water in swimming pools were temperature,
pH, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), residual chlorine (Cl2), total organic carbon
(TOC), trihalomethane (THM), major cations and anions, selected heavy metals, and total coliform
bacteria, E. coli and pseudomonas. Most of the physical and chemical parameters analyzed were within
recommended limit except for pH and EC. Residual chlorine exceeded the permissible limits in SW3
before and after bathing, recording mean values of pH, EC (4.3?0.25-4.33? 0.44), (2314?343 - 2453?
460), respectively. The dissolved oxygen was less than the recommended limit. Total coliform, E. coli and
pseudomonas counts were < 1 before and after bathing in all samples.