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For a large municipal swimming pool with a volume of 560,000 gallons and an average daily bather load of 1300 people, when should you backwash the high rate pressure sand filters?

  1. Every day

  2. Every week

  3. When the influent and effluent gauges are 10 to 20 psi apart

  4. When the water becomes cloudy

The correct answer is: Every day

For a large municipal swimming pool with a significant volume of water and a high average daily bather load, backwashing the high rate pressure sand filters every day is the correct approach. This frequency ensures that the filtration system remains efficient and can handle the substantial amount of contaminants introduced by a large number of swimmers daily. Backwashing daily helps prevent the filters from becoming overwhelmed with debris and maintaining optimal water quality for the pool users. Options B, C, and D are not the most suitable choices for this scenario. Backwashing every week may not be sufficient for a pool with such a high bather load, as waiting that long could lead to clogging of the filter media and decreased filtration effectiveness. Monitoring the gauges for a 10 to 20 psi difference (option C) could be a good practice but might not align with the demands of a busy municipal pool. Lastly, waiting for the water to become cloudy (option D) before backwashing is reactive rather than proactive maintenance and could result in poor water quality before corrective action is taken.