Is anyone else fearing for their swim program due to the upcoming enforcement of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act?
I swim in Massachusetts, and there's a possibility our pool will have to close due to compliance issues.
Anyone else dealing with this? We've been calling our legislators and doing whatever we can, but I think it needs to be a national effort.
Thoughts?
Sydned
I am very familiar with the act and the response from the aquatic community.
I will tell you that no public pools in Colorado that I am aware of are currently planning on closing if they can show a good faith attempt to comply (new drain covers on order, etc). Informally, the Consumer Safety Protection Commission has stated that they understand pool operators with "field engineered" drains (i.e. non-standard size) will need more time. Both the state and local health authorities here say they have no authority to enforce the legislation and will not be monitoring for compliance.
Frankly, this legislation - and the way it is being interpreted, while well intentioned, is having many unintended consequences and will not make the vast majority of public pools any safer than they already are. One ironic consequence is that the new covers stick up quite a bit from the pool bottom. We have one small spa with the new drain cover where we've had several injuries already from people stubbing their toes or tripping.
Sydned
I am very familiar with the act and the response from the aquatic community.
I will tell you that no public pools in Colorado that I am aware of are currently planning on closing if they can show a good faith attempt to comply (new drain covers on order, etc). Informally, the Consumer Safety Protection Commission has stated that they understand pool operators with "field engineered" drains (i.e. non-standard size) will need more time. Both the state and local health authorities here say they have no authority to enforce the legislation and will not be monitoring for compliance.
Frankly, this legislation - and the way it is being interpreted, while well intentioned, is having many unintended consequences and will not make the vast majority of public pools any safer than they already are. One ironic consequence is that the new covers stick up quite a bit from the pool bottom. We have one small spa with the new drain cover where we've had several injuries already from people stubbing their toes or tripping.
