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CERTIFIED POOL OPERATOR HANDBOOK
PRACTICE TEST | NEW ACTUAL EXAM
WITH ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026/2027
GRADED A+.
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: -correct 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?
-correct 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: -correct
answer -high levels of chloramines in the pool
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4. 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? -correct 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? -correct 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? correct
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? correct answer -
Sodium Carbonate
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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?" -correct answer 100.8 lbs.
5. To determine the level of chloramines in the water, you should do
which of the following? -correct answer -test for total chlorine and free
chlorine, then subtract the free chlorine number from the total chlorine
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? -correct 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? correct 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
sand filters. How often should you backwash the filters?" -correct
answer -When the influent and effluent gauges are 10 to 20 psi apart
CERTIFIED POOL OPERATOR HANDBOOK
PRACTICE TEST | NEW ACTUAL EXAM
WITH ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026/2027
GRADED A+.
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: -correct 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?
-correct 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: -correct
answer -high levels of chloramines in the pool
, Page | 2
4. 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? -correct 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? -correct 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? correct
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? correct answer -
Sodium Carbonate
, Page | 3
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?" -correct answer 100.8 lbs.
5. To determine the level of chloramines in the water, you should do
which of the following? -correct answer -test for total chlorine and free
chlorine, then subtract the free chlorine number from the total chlorine
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? -correct 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? correct 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
sand filters. How often should you backwash the filters?" -correct
answer -When the influent and effluent gauges are 10 to 20 psi apart
