Chlorine prices rising for second straight year in Tri-State

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - Memorial Day is just over a month away and is the unofficial start to pool season.

As people around the Tri-State start to open and prepare their pools, one familiar issue is sticking around from last year: high chlorine prices.

Fox Pools of Evansville Service Manager Skyler Ford says the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of Hurricane Laura in 2020 are causing supply shortages.

“The main plant that makes most of the chlorine in the United States is in New Orleans,” Ford said. “It was hit with a hurricane, caught fire and burned to the ground.”

Over a year and a half later, the effects of that supply shortage have costs rising even more than they did in 2021.

“Pre-COVID we were at about $100 a bucket,” Ford said. “Last year it was $130, and this year we’re at $180 for a 25-pound bucket of chlorine.”

Ford says right now, chlorine demand is higher than supply.

A 25-pound bucket lasts roughly four to six weeks, but Fox Pools of Evansville is only receiving chlorine shipments every six to eight weeks.

“We don’t even have enough to bring it on the floor, we just keep it in the back because it’s not even worth bringing out here,” Ford said. “People want to buy two, three and four buckets at a time — and we understand that — but just to make it fair, we only sell one bucket at a time.”

Ford says they are barely covering their costs on chlorine because prices are so high.

He says some customers have turned to salt as an alternative to chlorine, but now they are seeing a shortage on salt systems as well.

Ford says he’s heard the New Orleans plant is planning to reopen in August, which marks two years after the hurricane.

He says it still may be a while before the supply chain is restocked.

For now, customers hoping to have summer fun at their pools will be forced to pay more, and wait longer for their chlorine.

Copyright 2022 WFIE. All rights reserved.