AquaRevival, a company that brings the highest standard of water filtration technology to the attractions industry, has announced that NSF International has tested and certified its new technology, which dramatically reduces the risk of transmitting Cryptosporidium parvum (or crypto). This parasite causes severe gastrointestinal disease and cannot be killed by chlorine alone, posing a longstanding risk for commercial swimming pools.
With its American-made filters, AquaRevival has been certified by NSF International, the leading testing and certification organisation in the water industry, for over six years to meet new criteria within NSF/ANSI/CAN Standard 50 Equipment for Swimming Pools, Spas, Hot Tubs, and Other Recreational Water Facilities.
AquaRevival’s latest certification explicitly highlights its capacity to reduce crypto. When media is loaded per instructions, the filter offers “a 0.48 log reduction of Cryptosporidium parvum at a filtration rate of 3 GPM per square foot when tested with 3-um polystyrene microspheres.”
This translates to a 67% first-pass reduction of crypto in the water while operating the filter at maximum speed.
A key breakthrough for the industry
“This is a monumental breakthrough for the aquatics industry,” says Paul Nehlen, president of AquaRevival. “Pool facility managers know all too well the danger that crypto can pose to swimmers, and we are proud that AquaRevival offers the first and only NSF-certified filtration system envisaged in the Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC) for reducing that risk.”
NSF/ANSI/CAN Standard 50 is the established performance and safety standard in the US and Canada for assessing materials, chemicals, products, and systems used in recreational water settings like pools, spas, and water parks. This standard encompasses various product types and technologies and outlines explicit technical requirements for testing and validation.
AquaRevival is the first and only company to have its filtration systems tested and certified according to the new cryptosporidium reduction standards.
The validation testing regimen for cryptosporidium filtration removal in NSF 50 aligns with municipal drinking water standards. This elevated performance standard was included in the 2021 update of NSF 50. The cryptosporidium reduction tests specified in NSF 50 derive from standards established for the municipal drinking water sector and NSF/ANSI 419: Public Drinking Water Equipment Performance – Filtration.
The criteria in NSF 419 were formulated based on state and federal regulations, including the US EPA Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2), which aims to minimise the risk of cryptosporidiosis.
The updated NSF 50 criteria for filtration and crypto removal allow for the testing and validation of recreational water systems to ensure public health and safety, as well as to protect swimmers. The independent certification and testing by NSF International reinforces AquaRevival’s commitment to delivering superior performance and safeguarding public health in the management of recreational water facilities.
Reducing risk is crucial for operators
The Centers for Disease Control found that between 2009 and 2017, Cryptosporidium was the leading cause of water-related diarrhoea outbreaks in the US, accountable for 35% of these incidents and over half (56%) of reported cases were linked to contaminated water in pools or playgrounds. While healthy individuals typically recover, infections can lead to severe malnutrition and wasting in immunocompromised patients.
According to the CDC website:
“The 2024 MAHC (5th Edition) underscores CDC’s long-term involvement and commitment to improving aquatic health and safety. MAHC guidance stemmed from concern about the substantially increasing number of reported [Crypto] outbreaks starting in the mid-1990s.
“Creation of the MAHC was the major recommendation of a 2005 national workshop, which was charged with developing recommendations to reduce the incidence of these outbreaks. Local, state, and federal public health officials and the aquatics sector formed an unprecedented 7-year collaboration to create the 2014 MAHC (1st Edition).”
AquaRevival offers NSF-certified filters that use regenerative media filtration technology, capable of filtering particulates as tiny as 1 micron. Additionally, the company has developed patented technology that achieves the industry’s highest filtration rates at 3.0 gallons per minute (GPM) per square foot. Combined with a unique blend of media within the filter, this system achieved the necessary results for the new NSF Cryptosporidium Certification.
The NSF, a national accrediting organisation that evaluates products for their ability to protect public health in aquatic environments, has established this new certification as the benchmark for water treatment technology that prevents Cryptosporidium outbreaks.
