Chlorine Shortage Affects Nebraska's Pool Supply Businesses

May 19, 2021, 5 a.m. ·

close-up of swimming pool with a diving board
Some suppliers planned ahead for this crisis, others are looking for alternatives to the traditional chemical. (Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash)

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Many Americans stayed in their backyards for a vacation in the summer of 2020. Thousands of private swimming pools were installed, including many in Nebraska. Demand for chlorine has spiked. Unfortunately for pool owners, so has the price of the chemical.

Additionally, chlorine prices have gone through the roof in the wholesale market. A fire at a large chlorine plant in Louisiana last August resulted in a supply that couldn’t keep up with the increasing demand. In Omaha, Olympic Pool and Spa’s store manager, Joni Butler, planned ahead for the shortage.

“So we bought out whatever remainder chlorine was out in the market at the end of the year, last year. And then, we looked at what we sold throughout the entire year and we purchased that at the beginning of this year,” Butler said.

Butler says they are unsure when more chlorine will become available in the market.

In Lincoln, Supreme Spa and Pool’s general manager, Tyler Maas, says his business is adapting to the shortage.

“We like to try and limit our actual chlorine to commercial pools, which are actually required to run off of chlorine,” Maas said, “There’s a lot of benefits to going the alternative route. Just having less chemicals in the water and stuff like that but still actively sanitizing and actively treating.”

Some pool suppliers are resorting to selling chlorine to their most loyal customers first. This is mainly for companies that provide a pool-cleaning service. Nevertheless, some pool supply businesses have been forced to turn down their customers.