Today we took the tarpaulin off the swimming pool in order to start getting it ready for the summer season. This year, I have a few reservations about working on the swimming pool.

The first (and big) issue is that there is a new federal law in place that says pool drains at the bottom of the pool must be fitted with a pool drain that meets a particular standard. So, before we can start getting the pool ready, I will have to drain the pool, remove the current filter cover, and then have one ordered that complies with the new law. I have to say that this is a lot of extra work for which I am not being compensated and which is not a part of my contract.

I have had to call around and found that a local company here in Scottsbluff will rent me a pump to drain the pool. I had thought that you could just use the swimming pool pump to drain the pool, but I have found out that pool pumps are not designed to drain the water out of the pool. Sometime next week, I am supposed to get this pump and get it working so I can take care of the issue.

The other thing I am not totally happy about is that I need to have a Nebraska Swimming Pool Operator’s License. This would not normally be a big deal since the town house association where I live will pay for the class to get the license, but the issue for me is that I have to go to this class on a Monday night and stay until at least 11pm. I think having to do something like this on a school night when I will be already tired is going to make me very unhappy. I suppose that if I have to do it I will do it, but it does not mean I am very happy about it.