We first worked with the City of Orlando back in the very early 1980s, even before CES was incorporated. Our sister company, a solar contractor, helped the Orlando staff implement MacBall Insulated pool covers on select city pools to cut nighttime losses, and save lots of energy and money. When CES was formed in 1983, and we expanded into chemistry control systems, the City of Orlando was one of the very first to take direct control of their chemistry. The early model 3101 chemistry controllers weighed around 80 pounds, took two people to install, and they worked great for years before getting updated to model 520s, 720s and beyond.
Early city pioneers including Robert Burrows and Pete Alexander, now co-founders of Surewater Technologies, were among the first to embrace EPD drinking water-grade high rate sand filtration systems. These fully automatic systems rewrote the book on how filtration was handled, and were the precursor to the CES Poltank high-rate sand filters of today. Robert and his staff also pioneered the use of interactive chemistry controllers with communications, which we began providing in 1992, and utilized their features to the fullest to trim manpower, and provide the best water for residents.
The city also pioneered the use of more reliable venturi-driven chlorination systems, and was among the first to install higher efficiency Lochinvar LoNOX gas heating systems and well… you get the picture. The city has always been smart, progressive, and protective of budgets, patrons, and ecology alike.
The city carries on the proud tradition with Tyrone Walker and his team, including Ivan Pagan and Issac Arnau, continuing to innovate while taking great care of all of the systems installed in previous years. The controls, heating, and drinking water-grade filtration are maintained and upgraded as needed, proactively, and without drama. They are currently in the process of implementing state of the art centralized monitoring of all pool parameters to maintain minute by minute direct remote control of all facilities, including a powerful alert notification system for handling any out of range parameters, before they become an actual issue.
The city now is pioneering new ways to chlorinate with the installation of NEXGEN systems on select pools. These systems make chlorine from recycled pool water, and help reduce the requirements for storing large amounts of chemicals on site. The NEXGEN systems use regular “solar dried” salt, and a small amount of electricity to make pH neutral chlorine in small batches, as it is needed, to make the pools even safer than ever. The NEXGEN systems can also provide chlorination for multiple bodies of water within the same equipment room, making it a true on site “Chlorine Factory”.
Please join us in congratulating the City of Orlando, Tyrone, Ivan, Issac, and the rest of the Orlando team for decades of innovation, and for setting a high bar for all municipal pool operation.
Please contact your CES Rep for additional information, or to see if any of these proven technologies would be a welcome addition to your facility.
