How much pee is there in a swimming pool?

[UnauthorisedGuy 510]

Following on from UnabashedUser's thread about the effect of peeing in a pool, here's a link to an article (caution: contains dreadful puns!) in the Huffington Post about the volume of pee in public pools:

"A whiz of a study has determined just how much urine may be in the average public pool.

And urine for a shock: It's more than anyone wants.

The news leak ― actually, the news about leaks ― comes from a team of researchers in Canada who were looking for a way to detect urine in a swimming pool.

Turns out, the solution was pretty sweet: an artificial sweetener called aspartame potassium (ACE), found in a wide variety of consumer products.

The human body doesn't break down aspartame potassium, so it's excreted in urine but remains detectable in bodies of water, even at varying pH levels and temperatures, according to Environmental Science & Technology Letters, a respected "pee-riodical."

How much urine exactly?

Researchers monitored two public pools for three weeks for ACE. One pool contained 110,000 gallons of water (416,395L), while the other held 220,000 gallons (832,790L).

Based on the ACE measurements, researchers estimate that over the 3-week period, swimmers released 7.92 gallons (30L) of pee into the smaller pool, and nearly 20 gallons (78L) into the larger one.

In addition, the team analyzed 250 samples from 31 other pools and hot tubs, and discovered ACE levels were up to 570 times greater than the amount of pee found in tap water.''

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/03/01/scientists-find-out-how-much-pee-is-really-in-the-swimming-pool/?ncid=edlinkauhpmg00000002

  

[Genapee 68]

NPR Posting a similar article. I wonder why so many are looking into this topic??

 

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/01/517785902/just-how-much-pee-is-in-that-pool

 

 

[holyknight3 159]

Yeah, I read an article about that on Ars Technica. Turns out, about a bathtub (70L) for half an Olympic size pool. I was curious if anyone else had read that, and apparently the whole internet cares now.

[Alfresco 11,633]

I am surprised it isn't more!   Using some very rough and ready assumptions and calculations:

Assume the average bladder release is 300ml, that means 30L of pee = 100 releases.   If that is over 3 weeks, then that is only 33 pees per week.  Assuming the pool is open for 7 days per week and 12 hours per day, that is 84 hours, so 33 pees in 84 hours is roughly a pee every two and a half hours. The volume of water for the small pool above is equivalent to a pool of about 25m long x 8m wide x 2m deep.  That kind of pool would probably have an average of at least 20 people being in the pool at a time, sometimes much more.  If a typical person stays in the pool roughly an hour and say the average bather load is around 20 people at a time, then that means only 1 in 50 people are peeing in the pool.   I find that very hard to believe.  

I would have thought that typically the average pool of that size would be visited by around 20 - 30 people per hour and probably at least four of them would pee whilst they were in there.  Either I'm wrong or the study is wrong.   Of course the survey does depend on some pretty unfounded assumptions about the aspartame intake of the pool visitors as that would vary wildly between different people.  It would be interesting to compare the findings with other types of pools - like leisure pools where people hang out for several hours and have slides and wave machines etc., rather than traditional swimming pools

[glad1 2,832]

3 minutes ago, Alfresco said:

I am surprised it isn't more!   Using some very rough and ready assumptions and calculations:

Assume the average bladder release is 300ml, that means 30L of pee = 100 releases.   If that is over 3 weeks, then that is only 33 pees per week.  Assuming the pool is open for 7 days per week and 12 hours per day, that is 84 hours, so 33 pees in 84 hours is roughly a pee every two and a half hours. The volume of water for the small pool above is equivalent to a pool of about 25m long x 8m wide x 2m deep.  That kind of pool would probably have an average of at least 20 people being in the pool at a time, sometimes much more.  If a typical person stays in the pool roughly an hour and say the average bather load is around 20 people at a time, then that means only 1 in 50 people are peeing in the pool.   I find that very hard to believe.  

I would have thought that typically the average pool of that size would be visited by around 20 - 30 people per hour and probably at least four of them would pee whilst they were in there.  Either I'm wrong or the study is wrong.   Of course the survey does depend on some pretty unfounded assumptions about the aspartame intake of the pool visitors as that would vary wildly between different people.  It would be interesting to compare the findings with other types of pools - like leisure pools where people hang out for several hours and have slides and wave machines etc., rather than traditional swimming pools

I'm sure those of us who don't use aspartame throw the whole study off.
I would also add that I'm certain a good portion of if not all the water is treated and/or changed during the three weeks. It's not just pee, but perspiration, oils, skin cells sloughing off and the like that have a big effect on water quality that need to be dealt with.

[F.W 5,734]

Hmmm,as ive said before,i wouldnt really like to be immersed in other peoples urine,without at least being a willing member of whatever game was ongoing.

[likesToLick 10,216]

19 hours ago, fannywatcher said:

Hmmm,as ive said before,i wouldnt really like to be immersed in other peoples urine,without at least being a willing member of whatever game was ongoing.

Every drop of rain that falls contains water molecules that have been in someone's bladder.  There's no escaping it

[P-Spud 1,352]

On 3/2/2017 at 8:33 AM, Genapee said:

NPR Posting a similar article. I wonder why so many are looking into this topic??

...and here's yet another:

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/don-t-pee-in-the-pool-bees-play-ball-and-lucid-dreaming-1.4008562/dear-canada-you-are-peeing-in-the-pool-and-we-have-proof-1.4008576

There is a link on this page to the actual interview.

[Maggie_555 1,621]

On 02/03/2017 at 3:47 PM, Alfresco said:

I am surprised it isn't more!   Using some very rough and ready assumptions and calculations:

Assume the average bladder release is 300ml, that means 30L of pee = 100 releases.   If that is over 3 weeks, then that is only 33 pees per week.  Assuming the pool is open for 7 days per week and 12 hours per day, that is 84 hours, so 33 pees in 84 hours is roughly a pee every two and a half hours. The volume of water for the small pool above is equivalent to a pool of about 25m long x 8m wide x 2m deep.  That kind of pool would probably have an average of at least 20 people being in the pool at a time, sometimes much more.  If a typical person stays in the pool roughly an hour and say the average bather load is around 20 people at a time, then that means only 1 in 50 people are peeing in the pool.   I find that very hard to believe.  

I would have thought that typically the average pool of that size would be visited by around 20 - 30 people per hour and probably at least four of them would pee whilst they were in there.  Either I'm wrong or the study is wrong.   Of course the survey does depend on some pretty unfounded assumptions about the aspartame intake of the pool visitors as that would vary wildly between different people.  It would be interesting to compare the findings with other types of pools - like leisure pools where people hang out for several hours and have slides and wave machines etc., rather than traditional swimming pools

I echo Alfresco's surprise that it isn't more!  He makes reasonable assumptions about the numbers of people who pee while in a swimming pool and this survey suggests a much lower figure.  Certainly here in UK toilet facilities don't seem to be used by the majority of swimmers, suggesting that the pool is fairly often being used for this purpose.  My husband doesn't have a pee fetish but if he needs to pee while in the pool he simply relieves himself into the water without giving it a second thought.  I find this exciting but it does nothing for him.  I suspect a majority of swimmers feel the same, with only a minority who get out for a pee if they need to while swimming.  There are other people, like me, who try to pee as much as possible while in the pool but we are certainly in a minority.

I agree with Alfresco's thoughts that there are probably different levels of urine within different types of pool. I believe that traditional pools, where swimmers tend to come for periods of exercise, are less likely to be peed in than leisure pools (with slides and wave machines) where people tend to hang around for longer.  In a leisure pool it's also more usual to see someone getting in and hanging around for a few minutes before getting out again - this giving the person a convenient opportunity to use the pool as a toilet without arousing suspicion.

Well that's how I see it but others may have different thoughts.... 

[glad1 2,832]

Years ago, we had a neighbor down the street who had an in-ground pool installed. Very proud of his acquisition, he had a party for the whole neighborhood to show it off. And, yes we were all invited for a swim.

If you know how my mind works, you can imagine I was calculating how much pee would be in the pool by the end of the evening, especially since there were coolers of beverages everywhere.

I guess the owner thought much the same way. Sure enough, as I walked up to the fence surrounding it, I noticed a small sign that read, "Please don't pee in our pool. We don't swim in your toilet."

[tommcam 16]

Funny you should ask.  Back when I was a teenager my friends father found this stuff you put in the pool water and when someone pee's in the pool the stuff has a reaction and the water will turn red from the urine.  Can't tell you how many people were super embarrassed by getting caught peeing in the pool.  Great stuff I wish I could find the stuff today