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[Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>]

It dawned on me one day that our new 32' x 16' x 4' pond could actually 
become a multi-use swimming pool, if only potassium, and not sodium 
hypochlorite, could be used for chlorine.  It's mostly the sodium that 
creates the problem.  The idea goes like this.  The pond is filled for 
free during the winter months from the creek flow.  I keep a pool cover 
on it for several months.  Some time in June I vacuum it and start 
adding potassium hypochlorite.  Now for the hotter months, we have a 
nice pool.  In September the weather's not so nice for swimming anymore, 
but the water demand is at its greatest, and this is the time when the 
well is most likely to run dry.  After a few days of sitting the 
hypochlorite ions are deactivated by sunlight, and the very weak 
solution of potassium chloride (and hopefully not much else in the line 
of fertilizer) is available for watering plants.  Best of all, the 
potassium hypochlorite can be made right at home by electrolyzing a 
(dirt cheap) potassium chloride solution.  In fact, it's just a 
by-product of hydrogen making.  To make hypochlorite, you merely modify 
the apparatus so that the solution is stirred at the other (positive?) 
electrode, the one that doesn't make hydrogen.

Bill
S. Oregon coast