There was a meeting last year that I attended concerning the Oakmont pool. The meeting was about installing a new system that would use an oxygen system rather than the chlorine system traditionally used in the United States. Because the equipment was old and needed to be replaced, it seemed like a good time to switch it over.
The meeting did not have a lot of people attending. I am certain that many people that have breathing conditions did not attend the meeting because they were not aware that changing the pool over to an oxygen system would make this one pool available to them. They may not be aware that this is a game changer for them and they would be able to use a swimming pool for the first time in years.
I was thrilled because I am sensitive to chlorine. I still cannot use the pool because it is completely taken over by the volleyball team. I am certain a lot of people with asthma, emphysema and COPD would use the pool if they knew that they had a pool with very limited chlorine available to them. Chlorine also aggravates many skin conditions.
There is a long list of conditions that chlorine aggravates. Most of Europe has banned chlorine in pools because of the medical emergencies it creates for those with asthma, emphysema and COPD. Just walking by a pool with chlorine can put these sensitive people in the emergency room with a complimentary ride from EMT personnel.
The issue is not about trying to get along with the volleyball team. The issue is about those who have a medical condition that keeps them from using any of the pools in Sun City. The number of people in Sun City who have breathing conditions must outnumber the players on the volleyball team. I am sure that people with these medical conditions always assumed they would never be able to go near a swimming pool for fear of a life-threatening event.
I never imagined that I would ever be able to use a pool. The greater need of those with medical conditions should be a serious consideration about Oakmont pool.
The options here are the following:
Move the volleyball team to another pool so those with medical conditions can have access. Change another pool over to the oxygen system which will be a lot more expensive than moving the volleyball team. Leave everything as it is and wait for the fallout from the people who just learned that there is an option of using a pool for the first time in years. They will not be happy campers. I am very unhappy that the only pool I can use is never available to me.
Editor’s Note: We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
