As a swimmer of over 14 years with over 5 years of experience swimming at Claude Moore Recreation Center in Sterling, Virginia, I, along with many other swimmers, have had it with the disturbing conditions present at Claude Moore. In order to hopefully shed light on this issue, I wrote a letter to Suzanne Volpe, a member of the Loudoun Board of Supervisors for the Algonkian District. My letter, as well as her response, is included below.

Dear Mrs. Volpe,

My name is Caroline Brandt and I am a 12th grader from Dominion High School. I am writing to inform you of the severe health problems occurring at Loudoun County’s Claude Moore Recreational Center.

I have been a competitive swimmer my entire life and I participate with the year-round Swim Club and Dominion High School’s Varsity Swim Team. I have never in my thirteen year swimming career witnessed such filth and disgust at any facility I have ever swam at. I am sure you have received many emails about the growing health problems and complaints about Claude Moore, but after sitting back and biting my tongue for too long, I have had enough.

The air quality in the main pool is so poor, many swimmers spend their practices on the side of the pool coughing and gasping for air instead of swimming. Claude Moore management has attempted to fix the problem by blaming the swimmers for not showering before entering the pool. Not only is this outlandish, but showering before entering the pool is unnecessary, and will not fix the air-quality problem.

Additionally, pool cleanliness is the poorest I have ever seen. The bottom of the pool is brown, and the deck is full with dirt as the drains and gutters installed do not work properly. Did I mention the drains and gutters are yellow with filth? To make matters worse, Claude Moore staff does not properly clean the deck with bleach. I’m pretty sure spraying the deck briefly with a low pressure water hose won’t get rid of the numerous bacteria that inhabit the surrounding pool area.

Recently, I experienced a health concern of my own that resulted from swimming at Claude Moore. After warming up for my swim meet on Saturday, December 19th, I noticed red bumps resembling hives beginning to form on my upper arms. Not wanting to let my team down, I continued to swim in the meet. That night, I took Benadryl to get rid of the raised, red bumps that now covered the entirety of both my arms. The next morning, I woke up to discover I was covered head to toe in red bumps accompanied with a severely red face. Immediately, I rushed to NOVA urgent care to find out I had been diagnosed with hot tub folliculitis. Hot tub folliculitis is a skin infection caused by a bacteria commonly found in hot tubs. The more disgusting aspect of my diagnosis is that I had not been in a hot tub prior to receiving the infection. I contracted the infection from the pool of Claude Moore, as I had not swam anywhere else prior to receiving the infection. Bacteria are growing that aren’t even commonly found there.

After hearing of my diagnosis, I was instructed to not swim for 10 days until the antibiotic I was prescribed and ointment took effect and ran out. While watching my fellow teammates swim in the disgusting water, I couldn’t help but become increasingly frustrated that action needed to be taken. Soon after, I was informed that two other swimmers had contracted Ringworm from swimming at Claude Moore the same week I contracted Hot tub folliculitis.

Obviously, some severe health precaution measures need to be put into effect immediately. For Loudoun County swimmers, athletes, and exercise enthusiasts, health is a priority. For Claude Moore, health is clearly not a priority. What an injustice this establishment is doing to our county’s most health-driven people. I would think one of the richest counties in the country would invest in a proper filtration system and some heavy duty bleach and sponges to fix the severe health concerns occurring at one of Loudoun County’s “top recreational facilities.”

I appreciate your insight into this growing problem and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Caroline Brandt

Suzanne Volpe’s response which she allowed to be published:

Thank you very much for sending me this information.  First, let me express my sincere apology for your infection as well as the infections your fellow swimmers.  My office has already received Board of Supervisors approval for an Evacuator system to improve air quality in the pool areas.  These other issues, which you have detailed in your email, are quite disturbing.  My office will follow up directly with Parks & Rec and work on finding solutions to these problems.

Most sincerely,

Suzanne Volpe

Loudoun Board of Supervisors

Algonkian District