Dear WH&LA Lodging Member:
The WH&LA recently reached out to DATCP to provide updated information on some concerns raised recently by members relating to Pool Inspections. You may recall that DATCP (Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection) is the agency responsible for oversight of lodging licensing, Swimming Pools & Waterparks, as well as restaurants, under their Bureau of Food & Recreational Businesses/ Division of Food & Recreational Safety.
Most Recent Concern on Pool Inspections
Following a recent regional meeting of Pool Inspectors, some of our members reported being cited on their indoor pool entries not having a latch to prevent children from entry without an adult. As this was a new interpretation, they were seeking information on just what specifically is required, while balancing the safety of children with requirements on accessibility in the ADA. Below is the reply from DATCP to provide some clarity for lodging properties with both indoor and outdoor pools:
"A secure barrier around the perimeter of pools is an essential health and safety component for the prevention of drowning. The CDC has a statistic of 69% of children found in the pool were not supposed to be in the pool area. The presence of secure barriers help to prohibit or deter children from ente
ring the pool area when adults a
re not present or actively supervising the children. Providing a secure barrier can be accomplished with a properly designed enclosure consisting of walls, buildings, and fences of proper construction and height that are maintained as well as providing self-closing, latching and lockable gates and doors to all entr
yways of the pool enclosure.
Recently, there have been issues noted where all of entryways into the pool enclosure are not in compliance with ATCP 76 and SPS 390 regarding these barriers. Lodging facilities can have multiple areas of entry which can include fitness centers, outdoor patio areas, game rooms, clubhouses, sauna areas or even guest rooms that have direct access to the pool enclosure areas through sliding glass doors. All entryways into the pool enclosure would need to comply with the regulations to ensure a secure barrier is present in order to promote health and safety and prevent drowning events.
The pertinent codes pertaining to the enclosure requirements are as follows:
DATCP
ATCP 76.34 Pool design. (1) Any object or material not specifically approved under this chapter or ch. SPS 390 that may cause hazardous conditions or interfere with efficient operation of a pool, pool slide, waterslide, or water attraction, and deck may not be permitted in the pool area.
(2) All gates and doors into the pool area shall be maintained and checked for proper operation. Gates and doors shall be locked when the pool is not open to the public or is not in use.
(3) All outdoor pool enclosures shall be at least 5 feet high.
(4) All pool areas shall be enclosed and have self-closing and latching gates or doors that are lockable.
(5) During closed hours, a sign shall be conspicuously posted stating that the pool, pool slide, water slide, or water attraction and deck are closed.
DSPS
SPS 390.18(4) BARRIERS. (a) Except as provided in par. (b), public swimming pools, water attractions and water attraction complexes shall be separated from surrounding property by a barrier consisting of a fence, wall or building.
(b) Independent interactive play a
ttractions are not required to be surrounded by a barrier.
(c) A fence or wall shall be constructed so as to afford no external handholds or footholds.
(d) The barrier shall be at least 5 feet in height.
(e) Gates in the barrier shall be equipped with a self-closing, lockable closure mechanism at a height of at least 54 inches from the bottom of the gate."
Top Violations For Pools in 2017 & Other Data
To provide a more pro-active guidance to Wisconsin properties with pools, we also asked DATCP for an update on what were the top violations found for Pools in 2017, along with some suggestions from them on prevention. There are many interesting findings that you may find helpful, so we have not edited any of the content from DATCP that follows:
"The following information is from a recent data analysis that looked at the top violation for pools for the 2017 calendar year. It included most areas of the state except Milwaukee and Dane County who do not use the same inspection database as the rest of the state.
You will notice that basic water chemistry ranks number one (and has for the last several years) and accounts for a large number of the total violations. This means that over 1 in 4 pools are not maintaining basic water chemistry levels which can have serious effects on the overall water quality and safety. These are things like chlorine, pH, alkalinity, combined chlorine and cyanuric acid.
I have attached a
fact sheet
that can be found on the DATCP website for Public Pools that may be a useful tool to lodging-pool operators. Another recommendation to reduce this total number of violations is to encourage more pool operators to obtain their certification as a certified pool operator (CPO). Currently, ATCP 76 only requires a certified pool operator for pools categorized as a water attractions. The CPO requirement would not be required for a basic pool or whirlpool that are commonly located at hotels or most other lodging facilities. There are many studies that support the outcome of a decrease in violation when the pool operator is more knowledgeable. The CPO certification is a means for them to gain that knowledge.
Another foundational item that contributes to all violations is the absences of a "responsible supervisor". Every pool, when it is open, is required to have an operator and/or also a designated responsible supervisor. These responsible parties need to monitor and maintain the pool, enforce the rules, and ensure the pool is safe and sanitary. Often times, it is noted during an inspection that the pool operator or responsible supervisor is not knowledgeable about the pool operation or is unavailable. If either of these two conditions are noted, the pool is to remain closed according to ATCP 76.30 Closing Criteria. It is essential for a pool to have knowledgeable staff that actively monitor and maintain the pool. If/when they are not present, they need to cross-train and assign a designated responsible supervisor.
Investigation Data:
If an emergency event takes place relating to the pool area (deck, pool basin, bathrooms/locker rooms, or pump room) and requires emergency services, a Death, Injury, Illness Report is required to be filled out and sent into the state with 24 hours. See
attached form
. If the event is a chemical release event, near-drowning event, drowning or death, then I perform an investigation to verify compliance to prevent another incident from occurring and also to collect data for potential future code revisions.
The information below is from the 47 investigations I have performed since 2014 through 2017.
Here you will notice that it is more likely for me to conduct an investigation at a lodging facility. This may potentially be due to several factors: there may be more licensed pools located at lodging facilities, lodging facility pools tend to be indoor and will operate all year long thus increase the potential for an event to occur due to greater availability, or that most are unguarded pools.
Here is a representation of investigations performed at non-guarded vs. lifeguarded pools at any type of pool facility. You will notice an investigation is more likely to occur at a lifeguarded pool. I would have assumed that there would be a more significant amount relating to non-guarded pools but the relationship is actually similar. Another potential reason for more investigations at lifeguarded pools is that if an event is to occur, there are more staff available onsite to react to the situation and report this incident.
Similar to the last graph, this graph shows that a person is most likely to die at a non-lifeguarded pool. So even though an investigation is more likely at a lifeguarded pool, a death or drowning is more likely at a non-lifeguarded pool with hotels at a significant disadvantage. One thing I would like to mention is the difference between a death and drowning. A death is related to NOT being submerged in the water and is likely due to a previous health condition like a heart attack. And drowning is a death that occurred from being submerged in the water.
Here is a representation of the age ranges that were included in the investigations. You will notice that children 0-4 and 5-8 are most effected.
Some general topic of concern relating to the details of these investigation that are specific to lodging facility pools are the following:
-Many events involved weak to non-swimmers (children) who were not actively supervised by an adult. Some adults were in the pool enclosure but not within arm's reach, some adults were in a different pool or some adults were not even in the pool area with the child and were located in the guest room or nearby restaurant/bar.
-Many events occurred during birthday party events where a large group of adults and kids would rent out the pool area. The adult to child ratio was inadequate or the adult was not aware the child was in the pool area.
-Deep pools and weak swimmers resulted in drownings.
-Shepard's crook pole was too short. Not currently a code requirement but the pole is recommended to be able to reach the middle and deepest part of the pool basin.
"
We hope that providing DATCP's data, perspectives, and suggestions will assist properties with pools in avoiding potential violations and potential danger to the safety of your guests. The contact at DATCP for pool-related technical questions is Samantha Fiscus, Recreational Waters & Lodging Technical Specialist ([email protected]) or questions can go to [email protected].
We have requested and are providing this information as a benefit of your membership in the WH&LA.
Best,
Trisha
