Question to the rest of the group.
In 2008 the government passed the Virginia Graham Baker Law requiring all pools and spas to update to a specialized drain cover. This law was passed after the grandchild of a senator died after being suctioned to the bottom of a spa. The senator quickly put the bill through without as much research as there could have been done. This bill required all pools, even those that were gravity fed (no suction) to comply. The update was supposed to be completed by December 18, 2008. Those pools inspected after that date were subject to $10,000 a day or a maximum of $15 million fine for non-compliance. We had essentially three pools to and a hot tub to bring in compliance. At our indoor facility we decided to remove the hot tub since it was too old to bring up to date, and it has not been replaced because of the cost. We did however have to replace the drains of the indoor facility and outdoor facility pools, even though all of the pools were gravity fed. The process of this was not easy as the drain covers for the larger pools had not been approved and put on the market. It was not until after December 18, 2008 that we found an approved cover. We spent many hours researching and looking for the cover, plus the several thousand of dollars installing the new drains. It cost our facility a bit more because we had to modify the drain openings (cut a larger sump area in each of the pools where the current drains exist). I will have to find out from my supervisor what the cost was, I can't remember at this time. Also, keep in mind we are a city run pool, thus any major cost come out of our taxpayers pockets. Before we could get the money to complete this project, we had to get the city commission's approval. At this time there were approximately 20 employees. There was a chance that the city would say no, thus 20 people could have lost their jobs. We were lucky that the city commission supported our facility.
We have actually heard that some facilities are not able to pay for the cost of draining their pool(s), paying for the engineers to evaluate the current drain system, and replace and update the necessary elements. Some of these facilities have closed completely, others have stayed open and hoping not to be checked.
My question to the rest of the group is this:
If you were the manager or director of an aquatic facility, how would you deal with this situation?
NOTE: The work presented on this page was produced as part of a learning exercise. While the content was reviewed and controls were in place to improve accuracy and quality, it may contain gross inaccuracy or poor quality. The emphasis was on the learning process and the sharing of information. Furthermore, this content may still be under revision. For more information about the process, see About UniCommons.com. For more accurate subject content related to this work, see Subjects.
Comments
I would do whatever I could do to bring my pool up to standards as quickly as possible. If it's the law, you have to do it, no matter how inconvenient it is. I suppose I could fight it and take it up legally with the government, but that might be more time and money than changing it initially.
what would you do if you could not get the money to bring the pool into compliance? Would you keep fighting to keep the facility open so that your employees did not loose their jobs?
I'd try to fundraise and get donations from local companies. Of course I would do whatever I could to keep the facility open. But I think it's unwise to keep it the same and hope you're not checked. If it needs to close, it needs to close, hopefully to be reopened once the money is raised.
Not naming any names, but there is a place very close to me that has decided to test their luck and hope that they are not checked. I don't think that is very wise, but it was their choice. That fine is just way to big for our facility to risk getting.
I would agree that the fine sounds way too large to risk getting, or not taking any action with the hope of not being checked. Because it has become a law due to the fact that someone has died from this, I would say that it is a big issue not to be overlooked and needs to be addressed not only because it’s the law but because it’s is a potential hazard. Your facility is put in a tough situation though considering the cost involved with the updates. I would try and find some way to fund this update. The suggestion of fund raising was mentioned, this would be a possibility to try and look into.