Tucson pool owners face higher prices for harder-to-find chlorine tabs | Local news

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“There is definitely more demand and less product, especially with the trichloro 3-inch tablets,” he said. “We got the pills even though we went out for a few days a few times.”

Pool construction boom

The COVID-fueled boom in pool installations is a major contributor to the chlorine shortage as the Tucson area overtakes the nation in new pools.

According to the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance, an industry group, in-pool installations increased 23% in 2020 compared to 2019.

At the local level, the number of pool or spa building permits issued by Pima County rose 47% in 2020, from 413 in 2019 to 608, district officials said.

And in the city of Tucson, pool building permits rose 74% last year to 277, from 159 in 2019 and an average of about 150 per year for the previous three years.

Keep supplies

DeCook said that E-Konomy – a 60-year-old local business that he has owned with his brother Bill since 1983 – had a steady supply of 3-inch trichloro tablets in its two stores in the Tucson area like other retailers have had to raise prices and limit purchases.

DeCook said the company had to raise the prices of its pool cleaning service chlorine tablets to cover its higher costs – in some cases it had to cover some of the additional makeshift costs just to keep prices affordable.

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