Current through Register Vol. 24-18, September 15, 2024
For more general design, and construction requirements that
pertain to all pools, see WAC
246-260-031.
(1)
Location. Owners shall
ensure pump houses, planters, balconies, landscape features, trees, and
structures are located fifteen feet or more horizontally away from any swimming
pool, or provide barriers or other means to prevent diving or ready access to a
pool from the structures. These structures do not include:
(a) Building walkways above the second
story;
(b) Inaccessible roofs eight
feet or more in height; or
(c) Any
barriers provided to prevent unauthorized pool access (e.g.,
fencing).
(2)
Walking deck surfaces. Owners shall design and maintain walking
deck surfaces as follows:
(a) For pools less
than fifteen hundred square feet, walking deck surfaces must be at least four
feet wide around the entire perimeter of pools;
(b) For pools less than fifteen hundred
square feet, walking deck surfaces must be at least:
(i) Six feet wide at the shallow end of a
variable-depth pool; and
(ii) Six
feet wide on a minimum of twenty-five percent of the deck space of free form
pools.
(c) For pools
fifteen hundred square feetor larger, walking deck surfaces must be at least
six feet wide:
(i) Around the entire perimeter
of outdoor pools;
(ii) On fifty
percent of the perimeter of indoor pools; and
(iii) The remaining fifty percent perimeter
of the indoor pool must be a minimum of four feet wide.
(d) For pools fifteen hundred square feet or
more, walking deck surfaces must be at least sixteen square feet per bather. To
determine maximum bather load see subsection (10) of this section. If the owner
provides maximum facility occupancy loading less than that of subsection (10)
of this section, and the occupancy limit is posted and enforced, that loading
may be used in lieu of the maximum bather load figure as described under
subsection (10) of this section; and
(e) General use pools may not have sand and
grass areas within the pool enclosure unless these areas are separated to
prevent direct access from the pool area and the facility provides a means for
cleansing bather's feet before reentering the pool and deck area.
(3)
Pool general floor and
wall dimensional design.
(a) Owners
shall ensure pool dimensional designs for floors and walls provide for safety,
circulation and quality of water;
(b) Pool floors must have uniform slopes
with:
(i) A maximum slope of a one-foot drop
in twelve feet of run at pool depths to five or less in pools fifteen hundred
square feet or more; and
(ii) Floor
slopes not intruding into the area designated as the diving envelope.
(c) Pool sidewalls may not curve
or intrude into the pool beyond the vertical more than twelve inches at three
and one-half feet and eighteen inches at a depth of five feet. The radius of
curvature of wall-floor junctions may not exceed the maximum radius designated
in Table 041.1 of this section for depths over five feet. Vertical means walls
not greater than eleven degrees from plumb:
Table 041.1
Maximum Radius Coving or Pool Intrusion Dimensions Between
Pool Floor and Wall*
|
POOL DEPTH
|
3'
|
3'6"
|
5'
|
Greater than 5'
|
|
MINIMUM SIDEWALL DEPTH
(Springline)
|
2'2"
|
2'6"
|
3'6"
|
At 3'6"
|
|
MAXIMUM RADIUS OF CURVATURE
|
10"
|
12"
|
1'6"
|
**Maximum radius equals pool depth minus the
vertical wall depth
|
|
*Note:
|
For pool depths falling between the depths listed,
values can be interpolated.
|
|
For pool depths less than three feet and greater
than five feet, values shall be extrapolated.
|
|
Radius of coving shall not intrude into pool within
diving envelope.
|
(d)
Pool configuration must have a transitional radius from wall to floor where
floor slopes join walls so that:
(i) The
center of the radius not less than the minimum vertical depth specified under
Table 041.1 of this section below the water surface level;
(ii) The arc of the radius is tangent to the
wall; and
(iii) The maximum radius
of coving, or any intrusion into the pool wall/floor interface, is determined
by subtracting the vertical wall depth from the total pool depth.
(4)
Ledges. In new construction or alterations to existing
construction, ledges are prohibited in swimming pool sidewalls, except as
specified in WAC
246-260-091(3).
(5)
Specific design requirements for
pools furnishing areas for diving. Owners shall ensure areas designated
for diving activities include a diving envelope meeting minimum requirements
in:
(a) D-8.01, Table 1, APHA Public Pool
Regulations, 1981, if the pool user would enter from the deck level twelve
inches or less from water surface level.
(b) CNCA standard configuration in areas
where user would enter from the deck level over twelve inches from water level,
or has a platform or diving board provided at a height of less than one-half
meter (twenty inches). This requirement is based on a standard described under
CNCA publication Swimming Pools: A Guide to Their Planning, Design, and
Operation 1987, Fourth Edition. Human Kinetics Publisher, Inc.,
Champaign, Illinois, Figure 8.1; or
(c) Dimensions for Diving Facilities, FINA
facility rules, 2000-2001, if the pool user enters from the diving board or
platform at a height of twenty inches (one-half meter) or greater from water
surface level.
(6)
Pool appurtenances.
(a) If a
swimming pool contains diving boards and/or diving platforms, owners shall
ensure that the boards and platforms:
(i) Are
installed according to manufacturer's instructions;
(ii) Have slip-resistant tread
surfaces;
(iii) Have steps and
ladders leading to diving boards with handrails; and
(iv) Are protected with guardrails and one
intermediate rail, both extending at least to the water edge when one meter or
more above the water.
(b) Owners shall ensure starting blocks:
(i) Are firmly secured when in use;
and
(ii) If water depth is less
than nine feet, starting blocks must be removed or covered with protective
equipment unless used by competitive swimmers trained in proper use of starting
blocks.
(c) Owners shall
ensure that water slides conform with requirements of chapter 246-262
WAC.
(7)
Turnover. Owners of swimming pools shall design and maintain water
treatment recirculation rates to completely turn over the entire pool water
volume of pool in six hours or less.
(8)
Pool depth markings. Owners
shall provide water depth markings in feet:
(a) Located on the pool vertical wall at or
above the water level so as to be easily readable from the water, in numbers at
least two inches high. If overflow channels do not allow for placement of
vertical wall markings above the water level, they are not required;
(b) Located on the horizontal surface of pool
coping or deck of pools within eighteen inches of the water's edge, easily
readable while standing on the deck facing the water, in numbers at least four
inches high;
(c) Placed at the
maximum and minimum water depths and at all points of slope change;
(d) Spaced at increments of water depth of
two feet or less;
(e) Spaced along
sides of pools at horizontal intervals of twenty-five feet or less;
(f) Arranged uniformly on both sides and ends
of pool;
(g) Placed on all major
deviations in shape;
(h) Applied in
a contrasting color; and
(i) Made
of slip-resistant material on decks.
(9)
Safety line or marking line.
(a) Owners shall provide either safety float
lines or marking lines separating areas where the pool bottom breaks from a
uniform slope in the shallow area leading to deeper water. Neither float lines
or marking lines are required in pools with uniform floor slopes not exceeding
one foot of slope for every twelve feet of horizontal floor length.
(b) Safety float lines, when used, must:
(i) Be kept in place at all times, except
when the pool is used for a specific purpose such as lap swimming or
competitive use;
(ii) Be placed one
foot toward the shallow end away from the break point line;
(iii) Be strung tightly allowing bathers to
hold onto the line for support;
(iv) Provide floats on the line at a minimum
distance of every four feet; and
(v) Have a receptacle for receiving the
safety line either recessed into the wall or constructed so as not to
constitute a safety hazard when the safety line is removed.
(c) Marking lines, when used,
must:
(i) Be placed on pool sides and bottoms
at the break point line; and
(ii)
Be of a contrasting color to the background color of the pool sidewalls and
floor.
(d) In pools with
uniform slopes not exceeding one foot of drop in twelve feet of run from the
shallow end to the deep end, a safety float line or marking line is not
required.
(10)
Bather load. Owners shall ensure maximum number of bathers in the
pool facility at any one time do not exceed a number determined by the formula
noted under Table 041.2.
Table 041.2
Swimming Pool Maximum Bathing Load*
|
Type of pool
|
Value A (**SF Shallow
(5 ft. or less))
|
Value B (SF Deep
(> 5 ft.))
|
Maximum bather load
Value A + B
|
|
Indoor
|
SF/25
|
SF/30
|
|
|
Outdoor
|
SF/15
|
SF/30
|
|
*
|
This formula will be used in determining certain
features of pools as noted elsewhere in these rules and regulations.
|
|
**
|
SF means square feet of surface area.
|
(11)
Emergency equipment. Owners shall provide first aid and have
emergency equipment readily available at swimming pool facilities during
operating hours, including:
(a) A telephone
within the facility for general use pools;
(b) A telephone accessible within one minute
for limited use pool facilities;
(c) A suitable area to accommodate persons
requiring first-aid treatment;
(d)
A standard 16-unit first-aid kit (see Appendix C, Table); and
(e) A blanket reserved for emergency
use.
(f) For facilities with
lifeguards:
(i) A rescue tube or rescue buoy
at each pool lifeguard station; and
(ii) A backboard with means to secure a
victim to a board and immobilize head, neck, and back.
(g) For pool facilities without lifeguards:
(i) A reaching pole at least twelve feet long
with a double crook life hook;
(ii)
A reaching pole at least twelve feet long for every fifteen hundred square feet
of pool surface area; and
(iii) A
throwing buoy, throw-rope bag, or other similar device with a rope the width of
the pool or fifty feet long, whichever is less, for reaching and retrieving a
victim.
(h) No later
than June 1, 2008, owners of existing pools with single main drains shall
install emergency equipment to shut off all pumps hooked to the recirculation
lines for the pools. This emergency equipment must be placed within twenty feet
of the pool and marked with an emergency shutoff sign. The shutoff switch must
include an audible alarm which can be heard by those in the area, or have an
alarm that goes to a point where staff is always present during the periods the
pool is open.
(i) Pools providing dual main
drains meeting the requirements of this section, or other acceptable methods of
providing equivalent protection to the emergency shutoff switch, are exempt
from this requirement.
(ii) The
owner shall check the shutoff switch at least twice annually to determine it is
properly operating.
(iii) The
department will develop a guidance document to aid owners and designers in
potential options to the emergency shutoff switch and audible alarm.
(12)
Foot
baths. Foot baths at water recreation facilities are prohibited. This
does not preclude the construction and use of foot showers, if the area is well
drained.
Statutory Authority:
RCW
70.90.120. 05-09-004, § 246-260-041,
filed 4/7/05, effective 5/8/05. Statutory Authority: Chapters 70.90 and
43.20 RCW. 04-18-096, §
246-260-041, filed 9/1/04, effective
10/31/04.
