At a glance

Project Summary

Challenge

The number of primary schools with swimming pools in New Zealand is rapidly declining.

Solution

If the kids couldn’t get to the pool, take 10m portable pools to the children.

Quote

"Hydroxypure . . . is ideal for anyone with respiratory problems or skin allergies like asthma or eczema.”

Project Overview

The Trust is tasked with ensuring disadvantaged children don’t miss out on learning essential water safety and survival skills – just as important in New Zealand as it is in Australia. That’s because the drowning toll in New Zealand is one of the worst in the developed world. Yet the number of primary schools with swimming pools in the country is rapidly declining. And the logistics of transporting needy children to places where they could swim was proving a difficult task. Dr Ian Calhaem, former member of the Watersafe advisory board, came up with the solution. If the kids couldn’t get to the pool, they’d take 10m portable pools to the children. Hydroxypure was installed in the 16 pools as part of a trial in 2014. Each pool was used by up to 200 students per day and travelled the country as part of the Pools iN SchoolZ program. The water needed to stay consistently safe, clean and gentle to care for every child’s health.

Clear Benefits

Children loved the experience of swimming in Hydroxypure water and couldn’t wait for their swimming lessons. This meant more children participating in a vital program designed to save lives – as well as introducing them to the joy of swimming.

What the client said

“The reaction to and interest in the Hydroxypure sanitation system was remarkable, as it creates a truly chlorine-free swimming pool that is ideal for anyone with respiratory problems or skin allergies like asthma or eczema – conditions that are exacerbated by exposure to pool chlorine. This was especially important with the increasing number of children who have a reaction to chlorine.”
Mik Alexander, Waterco Ltd New Zealand Manager