There are a lot of pools in Fountain Valley, but what’s good for your pool can be bad for nature. The chlorine, cleaning chemicals and filter media that keep a pool clean can harm aquatic habitats.
Some pools are plumbed to the sewer. If your pool does not have a sewer connection and you have to drain it to the street, it will flow to the storm drain. Storm drains in Fountain Valley flow to one of two channels. One channel flows to Huntington Harbor, and the other flows to a wetland area near Huntington State Beach.
Pool water can be safely discharged to the storm drain as long as:
- It has been dechlorinated.
- Has a pH between 6.5 and 8.5.
- It is free from unusual color or algae.
- Does not contain filter media or acid cleaning waste.
- If you can, wait until after street sweeping so any trash in the gutter does not get carried to the storm drain.
Please do not clean pool filters in the gutter. Although diatomaceous earth is a common pool-filter medium, the contaminates in the filter are an environmental concern and can be unsightly for your neighbors when the filter media is washed down the street.
If you are hosing off the pool filter with water, do so over a lawn, planter box, or other vegetated area that will absorb the wash water. Collect materials from cleaning the filter and throw the collected material in the trash.
Do your part to help keep our neighborhood streets clean and local waterways healthy. For more information, please contact Public Works at (714) 593-4441.