Current through Register Vol. 24-24, December 15, 2024
(See additional design and construction requirements for
swimming pools in WAC
246-260-041, for spa pools in WAC
246-260-051 and
246-260-061, for wading pools in
WAC 246-260-071, for spray pools in
WAC 246-260-081 and for specialty
design conditions in WAC
246-260-091. See chapter 246-262
WAC for specific requirements for water park type features.)
(1)
Location: Owners shall
locate pools to minimize surface drainage and other potential sources of
pollution from entering the pool.
(2)
Materials: Owners shall use
only structure and equipment materials that are nontoxic, durable, inert, and
easily cleanable.
(3)
Walking
surfaces: Owners shall design and maintain walking surfaces:
(a) Sloping away from the pool or
pools;
(b) Sloping a minimum of
one-fourth inch per foot to drain;
(c) Having a nonslip finish;
(d) Not having an abrupt change in height of
greater than one-half inch, a gap no greater than one-half inch in width, or a
crumbling surface presenting a potential tripping hazard;
(e) Equipped with sufficient drains to
prevent standing water; and
(f) Of
easily cleanable, impervious finishes.
(4)
Barriers for new construction and
remodeling:
(a) Owners shall provide
barriers to prevent unauthorized persons from gaining access to pools. Spray
pool facilities without standing water are exempt from barrier requirements of
this section.
(b) Barriers at
limited use pools must be at least sixty inches high.
(c) Barriers at general use pools must be at
least seventy-two inches high.
(d)
Barriers, including windows, (see figures 031.1 and 031.2) may not:
(i) Allow passage of a four-inch diameter
sphere; or
(ii) Have spaces between
vertical members greater than a width of one and three-quarter inches if the
distance between the tops of horizontal members are spaced less than forty-five
inches apart.
(e) Solid
barriers may not have indentations or protrusions, other than normal
construction tolerances and masonry joints.
(f) Barriers must have self-closing,
self-latching gates or doors that provide either:
(i) A mechanism that uses a continuously
locked latch, coded lock or other equivalent access control system that always
requires a key or code to enter pool area. If the latch is less than sixty
inches from the ground, the barrier must have an eighteen-inch radius of solid
material around the latch (see figure 031.2) to preclude a child on the outside
of the barrier from reaching through the gate or barrier and opening the latch
and entering the pool; or
(ii) A
latch height of sixty inches or more from the ground.
(g) Restricted area service entrances are
exempt from door or gate requirements provided that no public access is
available.
(h) Lifeguarded pools
are not required to have a self-closing, self-latching gate during the period a
pool is in use. Facility gates shall be closed and locked during nonuse
periods.
(i) Barrier heights are
measured on the side outside the pool enclosure area. Owners shall ensure that
surrounding ground levels, structures, or landscaping do not reduce the
effective height of the barrier.
Figure 031.1
Barrier Construction Detail
(a)
. For a Chain Link Fence:
The mesh size shall not exceed 1 1/4 inches square.
(b)
. When chain link exceeds 1 1/4 inches square, provide slats to
reduce mesh openings to no more than 1 3/4 inches.
(c)
. Vertical Spacing: If tops of horizontal members are greater than
45 inches apart, vertical spacing shall not exceed 4 inches.
(d)
. Vertical Spacing: If tops of horizontal members are less than 45
inches apart, vertical spacing shall not exceed 1 3/4 inches.
(e)
. Solid Barrier: No indentations or protrusions shall be present,
other than normal construction tolerances and masonry joints.
(f)
. Maximum Clearance shall not exceed 4 inches above grade.
Figure 031.2 Gate and Latch Detail: When latch
height is less than 60 inches from the ground, a continuously locked lock must
be provided with an 18 inch radius of protection around the latch.
(5)
Barriers for existing
facilities: Before June 1, 2008, owners shall provide barriers for all
pools conforming with subsection (4) of this section. Barrier modifications
made prior to the compliance deadlines shall meet the requirements in
subsection (4) of this section, at the time the modifications are
made.
(6)
Pool
surface: Owners shall ensure pool surfaces are constructed and
maintained to:
(a) Have white or light color
finish;
(b) Not cause cutting,
pinching, puncturing, entanglement, or abrasion hazard under casual contact;
and
(c) Conform to ANSI/NSPI-1 2003
Standards for Public Swimming Pools or ANSI Standard NSPI-@-1999, American
National Standard for Public Spas.
(7)
Inlets: Owners shall provide
pool inlets that are:
(a)
Submerged;
(b) Located to produce
uniform water and chemical circulation throughout the pool; and
(c) Located on the bottom of swimming and
wading pools over twenty-five hundred square feet and spa pools greater than
ten thousand gallons.
(8)
Outlets:
(a) Except as provided in (f) and (g) of this
subsection, owners shall provide pool outlets with:
(i) Overflow and main drain systems each
designed to carry one hundred percent of the total recirculation filter
flow;
(ii) Main drain piping
systems designed to carry one hundred percent or more of total recirculation
filter flow when a single pump is used or fifty percent or more of total
recirculation filter flow when multiple pumps are used; and
(iii) Valving on main drain piping designed
to provide required flow.
(b) Owners shall ensure that overflow outlets
maintain a minimum of sixty percent of filter recirculation flow at all
times.
(c) Overflow outlets must
consist of an overflow channel on the perimeter of swimming pools twenty-five
hundred square feet or more and spa pools ten thousand gallons or more, to
promote uniform circulation and skimming action of the upper water layer with:
(i) A design preventing all matter entering
the channel from returning to the pool;
(ii) Dimensions minimizing the hazard for
bathers, such as catching arms or feet;
(iii) One one-hundredth of a foot slope per
foot or more. However, adequate hydraulic justification from a designer to
ensure the overflow system will meet (c)(v) of this subsection may be provided
as an alternative;
(iv) Drains
sufficiently spaced and sized to collect and remove overflow water to return
line and filter, where applicable; and
(v) Size sufficient to carry one hundred
percent of the recirculation flow plus the surge flow without flooding the
overflow channel.
(d)
Overflow outlets must consist of skimmers or overflow channels for pools less
than twenty-five hundred square feet, or for spas under 10,000 gallons.
(i) Weirs provided in skimmers must have a
normal operation flow rate of three to five gpm per inch of weir;
(ii) Skimmer equipment must be recessed in
the pool wall so no part protrudes beyond the plane of the wall into the
pool;
(iii) Skimmers must be
equipped with a device, such as an equalizer line, to prevent air lock in the
recirculation suction line. If equalizer lines are used, they must be protected
with a suction outlet that conforms to the suction fitting standard;
(iv) Skimmers must be equipped with a
removable and cleanable screen designed to trap large solids;
(v) Skimmers shall operate continuously with
a minimum displacement rate of fifteen gallons per bather in swimming pools,
twenty gallons in spa pools, and seven gallons in wading pools.
(e) Main drains in all pools must:
(i) Be located at swimming and wading pool
low points;
(ii) Have piping
designed so velocity in piping assuming one hundred percent of the pump
recirculation flow does not exceed six fps up to the main drain outlet
box;
(iii) Have covers on main
drains with maximum flow of one and one-half feet per second;
(iv) Consist of two or more main drains for
any pumped water recirculating system designed;
(A) Piping must be manifolded with junction
fittings placed in the middle of branch line piping between main drains, so
that the length of branch line piping is equal on each side of the junction
fitting (see Figure 031.3);
Figure 031.3
Main Drain Branch Line Piping Detail
(B)
Main drains must be spaced at least three feet apart, measured between the
centers of the drain covers;
(C)
Main drains must conform to the suction fitting standard;
(D) Multiple main drains must be designed so
that if one main drain becomes blocked, the remaining main drains are rated to
at least one hundred percent of the maximum pump flow; see Table 031.4.
Table 031.4
Main Drain Flow Rating Requirements
|
|
Number of Main Drains
Per Recirculation System
|
|
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
|
Main drain rated flow capacity must be at least
equal to the percent of maximum pump flow indicated, depending on the number of
main drains.
|
100%
|
50%
|
33.3%
|
25%
|
(f) Existing water recreation facilities may
be modified to operate without main drains, provided that water quality and
water clarity standards established in WAC
246-260-111 are met.
(g) New water recreation facilities may be
constructed without main drains, provided that water quality and water clarity
standards established in WAC
246-260-111 are met.
(9)
Pumps: Owners
shall provide and maintain recirculation pumps with adequate capacity to
provide design flows for the entire operating and backwash cycles of the
filter.
(10)
Strainers: Owners shall provide hair and lint strainers for pumps
that precede filters.
(11)
Pool appurtenances:
(a) Owners
shall ensure pools have:
(i) Handholds when
the pool deck is greater than twelve inches above the water surface;
(ii) Stairs leading into spa pools;
(iii) Step risers on the exterior of the spa
pool shall conform with UBC requirements for risers with nonslip tread
finishes, when spas are elevated off the pool floor; and
(iv) Stairs, ladders, or stepholes for access
at the shallow end of swimming pools.
(b) Owners shall ensure that stairs, when
provided, meet the following construction requirements:
(i) Nonslip tread finish;
(ii) Contrasting color stair tread
edges;
(iii) Placement recessed
into the side of pools specifically designed for lap or competitive
swimming;
(iv) Handrail having
leading edges less than eighteen inches beyond and less than eight inches
inside (horizontally) the vertical plane of the bottom riser;
(v) Each riser tread shall have a minimum
unobstructed, tread depth of ten inches and minimum surface area each of two
hundred forty inches;
(vi) Uniform
riser heights of seven and one-half inches or less on general use swim pools
fifteen hundred square feet or more and spa pools greater than forty feet in
perimeter, except the bottom riser may be less than the uniform height;
and
(vii) Uniform riser heights of
ten inches or less for all other pools, except the bottom riser may be plus or
minus two inches of the uniform height.
(c) Ladders or stepholes at swimming pools
shall be:
(i) Spaced at a minimum of one for
every seventy-five feet of swimming pool perimeter deeper than four
feet;
(ii) Provided at both sides
of the deep end of swim pools over thirty feet in width; and
(iii) Equipped with handrails.
(12)
Valves: Owners shall provide valves to allow isolation and
maintenance of equipment.
(13)
Balancing tanks: Owners shall provide balancing tanks for pools
designed with overflow channels. Balancing tanks must be of adequate size to
prevent air lock in the pump suction line and have sufficient capacity to
prevent flooding of the overflow channel.
(14)
Equipment and chemical storage
rooms: Owners shall provide enclosed, locked, lighted, vented rooms for
mechanical equipment, with floors sloped to a floor drain and minimum access
area three feet wide around equipment. Owners shall provide a separate chemical
storage area or room that conforms to manufacturer's requirements for each
chemical used in the pool area.
(15)
Make-up water: Owners shall
ensure an adequate supply of make-up water with associated piping, for each
pool:
(a) Sufficient to replace daily pool
losses;
(b) From a supply
conforming to chapter 246-290 WAC;
(c) Without cross connections; and
(d) If using a pool fill spout, the spout may
not project greater than one inch into the space above the water surface and
shall be shielded so as not to create a deck hazard.
(16)
Filters:
(a) Owners shall equip pools with filtration
equipment:
(i) Meeting the applicable
standards of NSF (for commercial application) or equivalent;
(ii) With a rate of flow indicator and
gauge(s) for monitoring backpressure on filter;
(iii) With a means of discharging filter
backwash to waste with a sight glass in a manner not creating a cross
connection or a public nuisance;
(iv) With a means to release air entering the
filter tank for pressure filters.
(b) If cartridge filters are used, owners
shall always possess an extra set of cartridges and may not use cartridge
filters with bypass valves.
(17)
Disinfection equipment:
(a) Owners shall provide disinfection
equipment:
(i) Providing a continuous and
effective disinfectant residual;
(ii) Using a disinfectant with an easily
monitored residual;
(iii) Having a
design feed rate providing effective disinfection levels for peak demand
conditions; and
(iv) Conforming to
NSF standard 50 if disinfection chemical is other than gas chlorine.
(b) If disinfection equipment has
adjustable output rate chemical feed of liquid solutions, the equipment shall:
(i) Feed under positive pressure in the
recirculation system;
(ii) Provide
a means for dosage adjustment; and
(iii) If the disinfection equipment is above
pool water surface level, have provisions to prevent disinfectant solution
siphoning when equipment is turned off.
(c) Solid tablets or granules may not be
placed in skimmer basket.
(d) Rooms
holding chlorine gas equipment must:
(i) Be
above ground level;
(ii) Be
constructed so all openings or partitions with adjoining rooms are
sealed;
(iii) Be located with
consideration of prevailing winds to dissipate leaked chlorine away from the
pool facility;
(iv) Have door(s)
opening only outward to the out-of-doors; and
(v) Have a sign on the door exterior reading
DANGER CHLORINE in large enough letters to be read twenty-five
feet away.
(e) Chlorine
rooms must have mechanical exhausting ventilation that includes:
(i) Air inlets located as far as possible
from fan intakes to promote good air circulation patterns;
(ii) A minimum of one air change per minute
in the chlorine room when fan is operating;
(iii) A remote switch outside the room or a
door-activated switch to turn on fan before entering;
(iv) Suction for fan near the
floor;
(v) Exhaust vents located to
prevent chlorine contaminated air from being drawn into supply air;
and
(vi) Screened chlorinator
vents.
(f) Gas chlorine
systems must:
(i) Be vacuum injection type,
with vacuum-actuated cylinder regulators;
(ii) Provide integral backflow and antisiphon
protection at the injector;
(iii)
Have taring (net weight of cylinder gas) scales for determining chlorine
weight; and
(iv) Have a means for
automatic shutoff when water flow is interrupted.
(g) A self-contained breathing apparatus
designed for use in chlorine atmospheres caused by chlorine leaks must be
available in an area accessible to the operator outside the chlorine room. The
apparatus must be maintained in accordance with department of labor and
industry standards. If procedures are established for immediate evacuation and
the owner has a written agreement with emergency service fire districts or
other approved organizations within the area for promptly responding to
chlorine leaks, then breathing protection is not required at the pool
facility.
(h) Chlorine gas
cylinders must:
(i) Be stored only in
designated chlorine rooms;
(ii)
Have an approved valve-stem cylinder wrench on the valve stem to shut the
system down in an emergency event;
(iii) Be properly secured to prevent
tipping;
(iv) Be tagged to indicate
cylinders are empty or full; and
(v) Not exceed one hundred fifty pounds tare
weight per cylinder.
(i)
Owners shall ensure that chemical disinfectants are not hand-fed into pools
actively in use. Exception, chemical disinfectants may be
hand-fed on an emergency basis if no users are in the pool and the pool is
tested to meet water quality standards before reentry.
(j) If ozone is provided as a supplemental
disinfection process:
(i) When ozone is
produced by corona discharge method, the area where the ozone is produced shall
meet the requirements of (e) of this subsection, unless field tests demonstrate
no hazardous off-gassing of product;
(ii) When ozone is produced by ultraviolet
light, it may be allowed in the mechanical room provided there are no levels of
off-gassing exceeding 0.05 ppm;
(iii) Provide an ozone detector and alarm
with corona discharge ozone generators;
(iv) Provide sufficient contact chambers to
prevent excess levels of ozone from entering the pool water; and
(v) Testing equipment must be provided to
monitor levels in the water and the atmosphere immediately above the water and
the room where the ozone is produced.
(k) If copper or copper/silver is provided as
a supplemental disinfection process:
(i) The
output rate and method of controlling process levels into the pool facility
must be provided;
(ii) The system
shall not have a detrimental effect on maintaining proper turnover rates for
the pool; and
(iii) Testing
equipment provided to monitor levels of copper and silver in the pool
water.
(18)
Chemical feeding equipment for pH control: Owners shall provide
chemical feed equipment for pH control, with a means of automatic shutoff if
water flow is interrupted, for:
(a) Swimming
pools fifty thousand gallons or greater;
(b) Spa pools ten thousand gallons or
greater; and
(c) All pools treated
with caustic soda or carbon dioxide.
(19)
Ventilation: Owners shall
provide adequate ventilation (in conformance with ASHRAE standards for pools
and decks) to maintain air quality and to prevent moisture buildup in indoor
areas. Design considerations must include maintaining negative pressure in the
pool and deck area; providing adequate total airflow for acceptable air
distribution; and preventing short-circuiting of fresh air return to
exhaust.
(20)
Locker room and
dressing rooms:
(a) Owners shall
provide general use pool facilities with locker rooms and dressing rooms
having:
(i) Separate facilities for each
gender constructed to block line of sight into locker rooms;
(ii) Water impervious nonslip floors properly
sloped to drains to prevent standing water;
(iii) Easily cleanable walls, lockers, and
benches (if provided);
(iv)
Junctions between walls and floors coved for ease of cleaning; and
(v) Properly anchored lockers, (if provided),
to prevent tipping.
(b)
Owners shall provide limited use pool facilities with locker or dressing rooms
meeting the requirements of (a) of this subsection if the pool facilities are
located more than one-quarter mile from any served living units.
(c) Owners shall provide general use
recirculating spray pool facilities with locker or dressing rooms meeting the
requirements of (a) of this subsection if the pool facilities are located
indoors.
(21)
Restrooms, shower rooms, and plumbing fixtures:
(a) Owners shall provide general use pool
facilities with restroom and shower room facilities having plumbing fixture
types and numbers as described in Table 031.5 of this section (swim and wading
pool bathing loads and spa bather capacity are additive for determining total
bather load). The pool facility design shall provide users easy access to
restroom and shower facilities with minimum nonuser cross traffic.
(b) Owners shall provide general use pool
facilities with:
(i) Hose bibs with vacuum
breakers around pool decks at a maximum spacing of one hundred fifty feet;
accessible to each locker room; and within equipment room at facilities fifteen
hundred square feet or more;
(ii) A
janitor's sink at indoor facilities with a pool of fifteen hundred square feet
or more; and
(iii) An operable
drinking fountain conforming to ASA requirements at facilities with a pool
fifteen hundred square feet or more.
(c) Owners shall provide limited use pool
facilities with:
(i) Restroom and shower room
facilities having plumbing fixture types and numbers as described in Table
031.5 of this section, if bathing load exceeds eighty persons;
(ii) Restroom and shower room facilities
having plumbing fixture types and numbers as described in Table 031.6 of this
section, if bathing load is eighty persons or less;
(iii) Hose bibs around pool decks at a
maximum spacing of one hundred fifty feet;
(iv) A hose bib accessible to each locker
room; and
(v) A hose bib within
each equipment room at facilities with a pool of fifteen hundred square feet or
more.
Table 031.5
Restroom Minimum Requirements* for General Use Pools
(Includes swimming, spa, and wading pools**)
|
Amount of Fixtures Required for Occupancy
Load by Sex
|
|
TYPE OF FIXTURES
|
MALE
|
FEMALE
|
|
Toilets up to 120
|
1/60
|
1/40
|
|
From 121-360
|
1/80
|
1/60
|
|
Over 360 add
|
1/150
|
1/100
|
|
Urinal up to 120
|
1/60
|
N/A
|
|
From 121-360
|
1/80
|
N/A
|
|
From 360 add
|
1/150
|
N/A
|
|
Showers up to 120
|
1/40
|
1/40
|
|
From 121-360
|
1/60
|
1/60
|
|
Over 360 add
|
1/100
|
1/100
|
|
Sinks up to 200
|
1/100
|
1/100
|
|
From 201-400
|
1/200
|
1/200
|
|
Over 400 add
|
1/400
|
1/400
|
|
Diaper changing station
|
1
|
1
|
|
*
|
If sufficient supporting documentation is provided,
restroom fixture numbers may be adjusted between the genders based on proposed
use of the facility. (E.g., if the designer has experience and justification
based on similar type facilities indicating that providing one additional
shower for the women and one less for men would provide a sufficient number of
fixtures to meet demands, this may be allowed.)
|
|
**
|
If a general use spa or wading pool is the only
pool at the facility, then a minimum of only one toilet, shower, and sink is
required for each gender.
|
Table 031.6
Restroom Minimum Requirements for Limited Use Pools
(Includes swimming, spa, and wading pools.)
|
POOLS WITH:
|
TOILETS
|
SHOWERS
|
SINKS
|
DRESSING ROOMS
|
DIAPER CHANGING STATION
|
|
Living units*within 100 feet and less than three
stories
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
Living units > 100 feet but < 500 feet and
less than 3 stories
|
1
|
1**
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
|
Living units within 1/4 mile and/or with three or
more stories
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
|
Living units greater than 1/4 mile
|
1(M)
|
1(M)
|
1(M)
|
1(M)
|
1(M)
|
|
1(F)
|
1(F)
|
1(F)
|
1(F)
|
1(F)
|
|
*
|
"Living units" means all the units the facility
serves.
|
|
**
|
A shower is required only if a spa is
present.
|
(d) Owners shall provide general use
recirculating spray pool facilities with:
(i)
Separate restroom facilities for each sex containing at least one toilet and
handwashing sink;
(ii) Hose bibs
around pool decks at a maximum spacing of one hundred fifty feet; and
(iii) Additional plumbing fixtures, if
indoors, conforming to the requirements for general use pools described in
Table 031.5 of this section.
(e) Owners shall provide limited use
recirculating spray pool facilities with:
(i)
Hose bibs around pool decks at a maximum spacing of one hundred fifty feet;
and
(ii) A restroom facility
containing at least one toilet and one handwashing sink, if living units served
are farther than one hundred feet away from the main pool.
(f) Restroom facilities must be located
convenient to, and no further than one hundred feet away from, the main pool.
They must have flush toilets provided with toilet tissue in dispensers and
handwashing sinks including:
(i) Hot and cold
or tempered water delivered through a mixing faucet with a maximum temperature
of one hundred twenty degrees Fahrenheit;
(ii) Single service soap in a nonglass
dispenser;
(iii) Single service
towels or electric hand dryer; and
(iv) A minimum running water cycle of at
least ten seconds if the faucets have self-closing valves.
(g) Shower facilities must be located
convenient to, and no more than one hundred feet away from, the main pool. The
facilities must have:
(i) A design allowing a
full-body shower in the nude;
(ii)
A design providing an enclosure confining water to the shower area;
(iii) Nonslip floor impervious to water with
sufficient drains to prevent water from standing within the shower
areas;
(iv) Running water delivered
at a temperature between ninety degrees and one hundred twenty degrees
Fahrenheit;
(v) Single service soap
in a nonglass dispenser; and
(vi)
Wall surfaces impervious to water up to shower head height.
(h) If owners limit the number of
bathers within their facility and post and enforce the maximum bather load,
owners may base the number of required plumbing fixtures on the posted maximum
bather load.
(i) Owners shall
dispose of all wastewater in a manner approved by the local health
officer.
(22)
Diaper changing stations: Owners shall provide a diaper changing
station, including a handwashing sink conforming to the requirements in
subsection (21)(f) of this section, accessible to all bathers, if children in
diapers are allowed in the pool facility and the facility is:
(a) A general use pool facility; or
(b) A limited use pool facility located more
than one hundred feet away from living units served.
(23)
Lighting: Owners shall
design and maintain pool facility lighting to a minimum level as described in
Table 031.7. Sufficient overhead and underwater lighting shall be maintained to
clearly see the bottom of the pool at all times pool is in use. Owners shall
provide protective shielding for all lighting fixtures above walking surfaces
and pool areas.
Table 031.7*
Minimum Lighting Level Required at Water Recreation
Facilities.
|
Location
|
Minimum Lighting Level
|
|
Indoor pool surface
|
30 foot candles
|
|
Outdoor pool surface*
|
10 foot candles
|
|
Pool Decks
|
10 foot candles
|
|
Locker rooms and mechanical rooms
|
20 foot candles
|
|
*
|
Outdoor pool facilities, which are used in daylight
hours only (before dusk) are not required to meet this standard.
|
(24)
Flow-through pools: Flow-through pools may qualify for exceptions
to recirculation if:
(a) Water supply is
sufficient to provide the same turnover period specified for recirculation
pools;
(b) The source water supply
meets acceptable quality requirements and is subject to a disinfection method
as described under WAC
246-260-111(3);
(c) The introduction of fresh treated pool
water is accomplished by the same type of inlet and outlet design required for
recirculation pools; and
(d) The
pool water quality complies with WAC
246-260-111.
Statutory Authority:
RCW
70.90.120. 12-17-102, § 246-260-031,
filed 8/17/12, effective 9/17/12; 10-20-131, § 246-260-031, filed 10/5/10,
effective 11/5/10; 05-09-004, § 246-260-031, filed 4/7/05, effective
5/8/05. Statutory Authority: Chapters 70.90 and
43.20 RCW. 04-18-096, §
246-260-031, filed 9/1/04, effective
10/31/04.
