Certified Pool Operator (CPO) QUESTIONS
& ANSWERS 2026 | A+ GRADED 100%
VERIFIED
1. You operate a 120,000-gallon pool, and upon performing your hourly
chemical tests you observe the following readings: Total Available
Chlorine reading is 1.6 free available chlorine reading is 1.5 pH is 7.4
Your supervising lifeguard has just informed you that you have had a
fecal incident occur; a solid stool has been discharged into the pool.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, as the CPO, you should
do the following: Answer: clear the pool and raise the free chlorine to 2
ppm
2. Assuming that your local health department requires you to raise the
free chlorine to 5 ppm, how much sodium hypochlorite would be needed
to raise the free chlorine in the pool in question #1 to that level? Answer:
3.5 gallons
3. You are the CPO for an indoor health club pool. The facility manager
informs you that he is receiving complaints about a strong chlorine odor
in the pool area, and several members have complained of eye irritation.
The most likely cause of these complaints is: Answer: high levels of
chloramines in the pool
4. To determine the level of chloramines in the water, you should do
which of the following? Answer: test for total chlorine and free chlorine,
then subtract the free chlorine number from the total chlorine
5. You operate a 45,000 gallon indoor pool, and upon doing your hourly
chemical tests you observe the following readings:Total available
chlorine is 2.2 Free available chlorine is 1.4 and pH is 7.6 What is the
level of chloramines in this pool? Answer: 0.8
, 7. You are the operator of a 330,000 gallon outdoor pool. Your local
health department requires you to perform a water balance calculation
once monthly. Upon performing the water tests necessary to perform this
calculation, you observe the following readings in your pool: Total
alkalinity is 50 ppm pH is 7.2 Calcium Hardness is 150 ppm
Temperature is 76 degrees F Total Dissolved Solids is 500 ppm Using
these readings, what is the Saturation Index for this pool? Answer: -0.8
8. To adjust the tested Total Alkalinity in the pool in question #7 to an
acceptable level, which chemical would be most appropriate? Answer:
Sodium Bicarbonate
9. To adjust the tested pH in the pool in question #7 to an acceptable
level, which chemical would be most appropriate? Answer: Sodium
Carbonate
10. You are the CPO for a 28,000 gallon hotel pool. You perform a
water balance chemical test, and to your surprise, the Calcium Hardness
is only 100 ppm. How much calcium chloride (77%) would be required
to increase this to 400 ppm?" Answer: 100.8 lbs.
11. You are the CPO for a 100 foot long, 50 foot wide country club pool.
The average depth of this pool is 7 feet. You return to the pool on
Monday morning, after a rare weekend off, and find that the auto-fill
feature has failed to work, and the pool water level is four inches too
low. How many gallons of water must be added to return the water to the
proper level? Answer: 12,495 gallons
12. You are the operator of a 3,000 gallon health club spa, which has an
average of 100 users per day. According to the CPO Handbook, how
often should the water in this spa be changed? Answer: 10 days
"13. You are the CPO for a large municipal swimming pool. This pool
has a volume of 560,000 gallons of water,and has an average daily
bather load of 1300 people. The pool is operated using high rate pressure
& ANSWERS 2026 | A+ GRADED 100%
VERIFIED
1. You operate a 120,000-gallon pool, and upon performing your hourly
chemical tests you observe the following readings: Total Available
Chlorine reading is 1.6 free available chlorine reading is 1.5 pH is 7.4
Your supervising lifeguard has just informed you that you have had a
fecal incident occur; a solid stool has been discharged into the pool.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, as the CPO, you should
do the following: Answer: clear the pool and raise the free chlorine to 2
ppm
2. Assuming that your local health department requires you to raise the
free chlorine to 5 ppm, how much sodium hypochlorite would be needed
to raise the free chlorine in the pool in question #1 to that level? Answer:
3.5 gallons
3. You are the CPO for an indoor health club pool. The facility manager
informs you that he is receiving complaints about a strong chlorine odor
in the pool area, and several members have complained of eye irritation.
The most likely cause of these complaints is: Answer: high levels of
chloramines in the pool
4. To determine the level of chloramines in the water, you should do
which of the following? Answer: test for total chlorine and free chlorine,
then subtract the free chlorine number from the total chlorine
5. You operate a 45,000 gallon indoor pool, and upon doing your hourly
chemical tests you observe the following readings:Total available
chlorine is 2.2 Free available chlorine is 1.4 and pH is 7.6 What is the
level of chloramines in this pool? Answer: 0.8
, 7. You are the operator of a 330,000 gallon outdoor pool. Your local
health department requires you to perform a water balance calculation
once monthly. Upon performing the water tests necessary to perform this
calculation, you observe the following readings in your pool: Total
alkalinity is 50 ppm pH is 7.2 Calcium Hardness is 150 ppm
Temperature is 76 degrees F Total Dissolved Solids is 500 ppm Using
these readings, what is the Saturation Index for this pool? Answer: -0.8
8. To adjust the tested Total Alkalinity in the pool in question #7 to an
acceptable level, which chemical would be most appropriate? Answer:
Sodium Bicarbonate
9. To adjust the tested pH in the pool in question #7 to an acceptable
level, which chemical would be most appropriate? Answer: Sodium
Carbonate
10. You are the CPO for a 28,000 gallon hotel pool. You perform a
water balance chemical test, and to your surprise, the Calcium Hardness
is only 100 ppm. How much calcium chloride (77%) would be required
to increase this to 400 ppm?" Answer: 100.8 lbs.
11. You are the CPO for a 100 foot long, 50 foot wide country club pool.
The average depth of this pool is 7 feet. You return to the pool on
Monday morning, after a rare weekend off, and find that the auto-fill
feature has failed to work, and the pool water level is four inches too
low. How many gallons of water must be added to return the water to the
proper level? Answer: 12,495 gallons
12. You are the operator of a 3,000 gallon health club spa, which has an
average of 100 users per day. According to the CPO Handbook, how
often should the water in this spa be changed? Answer: 10 days
"13. You are the CPO for a large municipal swimming pool. This pool
has a volume of 560,000 gallons of water,and has an average daily
bather load of 1300 people. The pool is operated using high rate pressure
