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Those who are so vehemently opposed to Graydon as a swimming facility are hysteria-inducing alarmists
Regarding whether Graydon Pool is a swimming facility: it most definitely is! No, it is not sterilized with tons of chlorine or bromine each day, as concrete pools are, and in many ways that may make it better all around for a human body. Why in the world do people think that submerging oneself in water that has been heavily treated with chemicals is “safe?” Yes, of course there are some microbes in Graydon, but the water is tested regularly to ascertain that safe conditions are in place. From what I understand, the water is aerated with diffusers and treated with natural chemicals, making it cleaner than a sedentary lake. Moreover, the natural flow of water from the brook keeps it moving, which keeps the microbe levels lower.
Those who are so vehemently opposed to Graydon as a swimming facility are hysteria-inducing alarmists. For heaven’s sake, such municipal swimming facilities are in use throughout the world. I am a clinical microbiologist and I have never, ever had a concern about swimming in Graydon; we swam in it for many summers when our daughter was growing up in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and now we have the great pleasure of enjoying it once again with our granddaughter. Not once has anyone in my family developed an infection that could have been attributed to swimming in Graydon. Graydon is a lovely placed to spend a summer day; please leave it as is.
Regarding the loss of money, enough already! How much money is spent on electricity to light the sports fields? Every single time a game is played under the lights the Village is “losing” money. I am sure there would be an unbelievable uproar if the Village started charging a fee to those who play the games and those who watch them. Which brings me to my point: why does Graydon have to turn a profit? Indeed, why does it even have to “break even?”
Regarding candidate Hauck’s Monday night quote: “I want to state emphatically for the record that I want to make no changes to Graydon Park. And I’m not interested in building another swimming pool in Ridgewood because we don’t have the funds right now.” This COMPLETELY CONTRADICTS what she stated in her February 21 interview with The Patch, when she said: “ . . . another village-owned clear-water pool would be a nice asset to Ridgewood. A lake is no longer acceptable to people. People want clear-bottom pools. And Graydon is not a clear-bottom pool.” For those voters who wish to preserve Graydon, I would recommend against Ms. Hauck. For those voters who wish to elect candidates who are consistent in their positions on important issues facing the Council, I would recommend against a candidate who cannot even agree with herself.
Thank you–all true except one point. The Ho-Ho-Kus Brook receives runoff from Graydon but does not supply water to it. Brook water was diverted to the swimming area about 80 years ago, when the was located where the Graydon North parking lot is now, but it has not been the case for many decades. Fresh water now comes from a combination of underground springs (one reason a concrete pool could never be built on that site; it would be wrecked) and the five fenced-in fountains along the Maple Avenue side that send clean well water into the swimming area intermittently, as needed.
When sodium chloride (a version of chlorine) and natural chemicals are put in the water to clean it–as you say, to a far lesser degree than concrete pools require–the two spillways leading to pipes that feed into the brook are physically closed until the chemicals have receded to levels acceptable to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
…sorry–should say: Brook water was diverted to the swimming area about 80 years ago, when IT was located where the Graydon North parking lot is now, but this has not been the case for many decades.