The concentrations of various disinfection by-products (DBPs) in local swimming pools and the ability of both granular activated carbon (GAC) and biologically active carbon (BAC) for control or removal was investigated. Ten outdoor and six indoor swimming pools were analyzed for DBPs along with other various water quality parameters: pH, free and total chlorine residual, total organic carbon (TOC), and UV absorbance. The two types of DBPs investigated were trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). Almost all THM concentrations were below the EPA's drinking water standard (80 �g/L). However, HAA concentrations were extremely high. Overall average HAA concentrations were approximately 1800 �g/L. The EPA's drinking water standard for HAAs is only 60 �g/L. Indoor swimming pools, in particular, had extremely high HAA concentrations (avg ~3000 �g/L) Water from a local indoor swimming pool was filtered through GAC and BAC columns to investigate their ability to remove HAAs. Both GAC and BAC effectively removed HAAs. GAC removed 70% and BAC removed 85% of the total HAA concentration in the source water. The BAC column was more effective at removing HAAs. The GAC column initially adsorbed the HAAs, but biodegradation later developed within the column. This shows that GAC can be used initially to adsorb the HAAs and when operated long enough, will convert to BAC and still effectively remove HAAs. This study has shown that HAA concentrations are extremely high in swimming pools and can easily be controlled with biologically active carbon (BAC). These results may also give drinking water treatment plants a better understanding of how DBPs are formed and also how HAAs can be controlled and possibly removed.