This may seem like a bizarre post coming from a pool builder in San Antonio, but I can't help and think that something is missing from the current battle plan.
What I believe might offer a change is some offense alongside our defense. 
What if we weren't just chasing and tracking this virus, but also hunting and killing it at the same time?
While I've written about UV light and it's ability to sanitize pools, it's also known that a much higher level of UV tech exists within the medical industry.
And from what we've studied, the best manufacturer of these units is located right here in San Antonio.
We're speaking of UV emitting robots.
If these robotic microorganism assassins were placed in high trafficked areas that were probable places where multiple infections could likely be occuring due to our human patterns, we might very well reduce transmission.
I'm spitballing here, but running these things on a repetitive schedule through airports, planes, hospitals, ambulances, nursing homes, etc, while continuing to use common sense measures like hand washing in conjunction with these robotic soldiers seems pretty logical.
While I'm definitely no expert, if the technology exists and is proven to work, why not use it. 
Maybe I'm wrong, but if there's validity to what I'm suggesting, I hope those wiser than I take a look at how these can be used.

This will be oversimplified to cover a ton of info quickly, so here it goes.
First off,
if you have a pool maintenance company, their primary goal is to be at your pool as little as possible.
This is not me bashing or ranting, this is just reality.
Their secondary goal is to use the least amount of chemicals required to maintain your pool.
Sorry, but it's true.
This doesn't mean they're all ripping you off, it's just how the pool service industry works.
It comes down to simple arithmetic.
Time+money+chemicals+fuel = cost.
If they can cut any of these costs, they save money and make more per pool.

Now throw into the mix that humans are flawed.
How many service providers are truly educated about pool chemistry?
How many of them are driven to grow their company, focusing on customer satisfaction?
How many are willing to take on the expense that being ethical and honest brings with it?
Again, this is not an attempt to bash pool service providers.
Education, owning errors and mistakes, as well as providing great customer service, all come at a cost, which is largely financial. Unfortunately, a large portion of today's service providers can not afford these expenses.
So to sum it up, if someone is maintaining your pool, there's a high probability that you've hired someone for a service who succeeds by providing as little service and materials as permissible, and they are very likely under-educated, and are carrying the burden of living month to month hoping nothing goes wrong.

Now you know why so many pool owners can't find a pool service provider that their happy with.

Now the good news, along with some really cool info.

Did you know that a GOOD pool service provider can be amazing and a God send?
They can offer smart solutions that will help them meet their goals while keeping you happy and actually saving you money!

Check out how these options for better pool water can completly change the game.

Our recommended technologies like UV systems, AFM (activated Filter Media), mineral induction combination systems, and centrifugal pre-filtration will all drastically improve your pool water and the work required to maintain it.
When combined to work synergistically, they produce outstanding results. 
We believe in this tech so much that we install it on all of our signature pools.

We could spend a very long time explaining each one of these technological advancements in detail. However, as we said, we want to inform you first, then you can dig as much as you like.

below we'll list the technologies we believe are game changers.
we'll start by listing them  1-4
Along with what they do.
There will be an informational video for each.
watch em!!!
​
1- UV systems - Ultraviolet can sterilize pool water without chemicals.
If you remember the Ebola outbreak of 2014, a UV robot named "Saul" made his debut and did not disappoint.
"Saul" the UV robot, made by a San Antonio based company called Xenex, proved to in fact be a literal killing machine.
It's been well documented that UV is an incredibly heavy hitter pertaining to disinfection. 
 Multiple medical studies have shown that UV can disinfect at an extremely effective level that is changing the way hospitals are viewing disinfection and even the use of bleach (chlorine).
It's the real deal!

READ MORE IN THIS ARTICLE
If any of you have ever taken a dip in a spring fed pool, almost all will agree that the water felt great.
Aside from being a bit on the chilly side, I personally loved my glide through the natural water in our local spring fed swimming hole. 
Today’s race for a better pool water solution is nothing new; it's been going on for decades. 
When you do a quick Internet search for chlorine pool alternatives, you'll run into all sorts of "better" options. 
We did a search and stuck to first page results to check out what a novice may encounter.  We found saltwater, ozone, UV, hydrogen peroxide, and even swim ponds.
When you look at each technology or concept, they all claim to be the answer to the quest for "better" pool water.
So, what’s the deal? What’s the solution? Why is it so complicated?
Well, it's not! 
​The truth is people are simply confused from being fed bad info. 
Here’s the truth, or at least our attempt to shed light on what’s really going on!
The short answer!
Chlorine is a set standard and it’s the most widely accepted method established to sanitize. The problem is, people can get really sick from swimming in even seemingly clean pools. 
So, If you want to avoid big trouble should someone get ill from swimming in your pool, you'd better be using proven sanitation methods recommended by the authorities on health. 
The other issue is that the public got side tracked into believing that the "feel" of the water equates to the "health" of the water. 
These are two totally separate things.

The longer answer!
While companies are indeed making some effort to accommodate pool owners with alternatives to chlorine, it all ends up being a re-packaging of the chlorine pool but with a plus or a twist. 

Due to federal & global organizations like the CDC, WHO and EPA doing health studies that produce data, which births a baseline, and then a standard, a rule or a regulation, water sanitation turns into a big legal deal from a liability standpoint. 
It's a litigious society we live in today. What company is going to want to risk going against the grain when proven stuff is still selling?

As far as the feel of the water, this is a completely out of whack perception by the public, and the tech companies capitalize on it.
Saltwater pools are actually chlorinated.
The salt in the pool is converted into chlorine by electrolysis.
The feel of the water is due to the salinity levels, which are closer to the physiological salt levels naturally found in our bodies, so the water feels good on the skin.
Anyone ever see eye rinsing solutions referred to as "saline" solution?
theres your salt! Salt is naturally in our bodies and tears.
Saltwater pools have other issues as well.
They're a pain, they're corrosive to equipment, and they can thrash decking and masonry work.
I know of builders who offered to change their clients saltwater pools into chlorine pools at no charge due to the saltwater causing so many problems.

There are also other alternative options like Ozone and UV, which have strong benefits, but they have limitations too.
The biggest limitation is induction lag.
When trying to go chemical free, there's a big hurdle pertaining to the fact that once a contaminant is introduced into the water body, it doesn't immediatly begin to be sanitized.  The contaminant remains in the pool water body until it gets sanitized and filtered. 
Even if the contaminant got sucked directly into the plumbing system as soon as it entered the water, it may not get knocked out on the first pass through. This ends up leaving nasties in the same pool water with the swimmers for longer than desired, so risk of infection increases do to increased exposure time.
The UV and ozone treat the water only while it's flowing through the system and passing through the equipment at the equipment pad.
Organic material load would be the other down side. 
A pool that recieves a high organic matter load can get overwhelmed fairly quickly.
While these shortcomings are simply realities, these systems do have major benefits.

Now we come to natural swimming ponds.
For starters they are technically being deemed "ponds you can swim in." These aren't even referred to as pools. And it appears that the name itself is helping these swimming areas avoid the ANSI/ APSP standards on a technicality. Maybe we're missing something here, but who knows? While we'll admit that we aren't currently considered experts pertaining to these swim ponds, the name issue is a red flag for us. So with that being said, we'll have to opt out of this pool type for now.

So what pool sanitation tech should people go with?
What we've found to be the answer for better pool water was a combination system.
Saltwater systems are not part of that equation though.  As a builder, I completely avoid saltwater pools!
If you need convincing just look up galvanic corrosion and efflorescence.
Still, the use of the other tech thats out there in an adjunct approach with a standard chlorine system is by far your best bet for a better sanitation setup.
As a pool builder, we had the luxury of experimenting with this for many years, so for a buyer you'll have to research and dig until you are confident with what you're choosing.
We build about a dozen elaborate and high end pools every year, and it took us over 5 years of researching, testing and tweaking these technologies before we could consistently replicate it to produce some seriously amazing results.
For the record, we don't sell these setups, and there's a hefty learning curve.
​Our synergistic approach to tackling sanitation has evolved over the years into a pretty complex systems that goes beyond simply combining a few sanitation technologies.
Our installs actually start with the plumbing & hydraulics and finish out by strategically lining up every single aspect of the equipment that interacts with the pool water. 
We've not seen another setup to date that is as powerful and as effective as what we've now named our SYNER-KLEAR system. 
This system is also extremely user friendly and it drastically reduces the time customers and maintenance providers spend tending to their pools.
So there you go. If you want a great sanitation system, research combining technologies and decide whats best for you and your budget.