Dead bird in stagnant pool -- health hazard?

December 22, 2008 2:11 PM

This morning we found a dead bird in our pool -- unfortunately, this pool is half-empty and has been unfiltered and stagnant for a month. Considering that birds carry diseases, do we need to completely empty out the pool or will chlorine be enough to fend off any potential health hazards?

About a month ago, my folks had to fix the pool light, so they emptied the water down to about half its regular capacity. Since it's winter and no one's swimming, they left it down there without new chlorine or the filter running.

This morning, we found a dead bird floating around and removed it. But it may have been there for about a day or two.

Since it's a 40,000 gallon pool, I'm wondering if chlorine shock and acid treatment will be enough to sanitize the remaining ~20,000 gallons, or if it's best to empty it out completely to avoid any avian-borne diseases. The former saves water, the latter is a health precaution at the expense of wasted water.

Thanks!

posted by spiderskull to health & fitness (12 comments total)

Animal Control might have some information for you.
posted by gramcracker at 2:25 PM on December 22, 2008 [1 favorite]

Personally, I'd empty it out. Not because of a single bird, but without a cover, if only to help prevent other sad occurrences of the same nature (no pun intended) until the pool is ready for use and regular maintenance again.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 2:37 PM on December 22, 2008

I really wouldn't worry about it.
posted by gyusan at 2:40 PM on December 22, 2008

I'd worry less about the dead bird and more about the mosquito heaven that is an undrained, untreated pool. West Nile is nothing to sneeze at, and it's carried by mosquitoes.

There's likely a Vector Control unit of your state's health department, and they may know the absolute answer to your question ("does chlorine kill viruses?"). And they'll probably ask you to either drain or treat and then cover the pool.
posted by rtha at 2:43 PM on December 22, 2008

Just a note that many in-ground pools can not safely be drained due to hydrostatic pressure from groundwater. Make sure your pool can be drained before emptying it, if choose to go that direction.
posted by qwip at 2:58 PM on December 22, 2008

My parents found an dead cat in their pool one time. There was some course of chemicals neccessary, but the pool did not need to be completely drained. I'm pretty sure my dad got the advice from the folks at a local pool store.
posted by disaster77 at 3:25 PM on December 22, 2008

Live mosquitoes are a much more serious problem than a dead bird. If your profile is correct, you live in a county with year -round West Nile Virus activity. Stagnant pools are a major health hazard all by themselves.

I suppose there's a chance that you could get Salmonella if you decided to go swimming without treating the pool first. Proper treatment should take care of that.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:39 PM on December 22, 2008

"this pool is half-empty and has been unfiltered and stagnant for a month"

this is your problem, not the bird...
posted by HuronBob at 4:17 PM on December 22, 2008

Proper treatment and some filtration time is all that you need. Call a pool maintenance shop if you have concerns about how to do this. For what it's worth, decomp in a pool is a lot easier to deal with than accidental toxic contamination like with pesticides.
posted by mrmojoflying at 4:29 PM on December 22, 2008

Seconding to call your state health department. They have established guidelines and protocols for this very situation and can likely tell you exactly what you should do. Go to the people who know something about it.
posted by Miko at 8:16 PM on December 22, 2008

A shock treatment will take care of it, killing bacteria and viruses that can make you sick is exactly what shock is designed for. The bacteria and mosquitoes that can grow in that long without chlorine are a much bigger health hazard than anything a dead bird might have brought in.
posted by TungstenChef at 11:30 PM on December 22, 2008

I'm a little late and so I hope you've already done this, but you need to report dead birds to the CDC/Health Department ASAP, especially in West Nile Virus areas.

Although WNV is often associated with mosquitoes, it originates in birds (another reason why birds are filthy). The fact that the dead bird was found in a stagnant pool, an area that would be breeding mosquitoes, is really bad.

The Health Department/CDC will take the bird and test it, and they'll probably also flip out at your stagnant pool.

1. Call the CDC/Health Department to report the dead bird.
2. Drain and cover the pool.
posted by thebazilist at 5:00 PM on December 23, 2008