THE VIRGINIA GRAEME BAKER POOL & SPA SAFETY ACT OF 2007

This new federal law was enacted to help prevent suction entrapment injuries and becomes effective December 19, 2008. The requirements for public swimming pools, spas, and wading pools are summarized below and must be met before these facilities can be operated after that date.

Drain Cover Requirements-New drain covers certified to ASME/ANSI A112.19.8-2007 must be installed.

Backup System Requirements- Suction piping for each pump must be inspected and will be considered in compliance with the federal law if:1) no submerged drains connect to the pump, or 2) there are two drains at least 3 feet apart,or 3) there is a single "unblockable" drain. An unblockable drain includes a sump under the cover that is larger than 18 inches by 23 inches, or a channel type drain with a diagonal open area of at least 29 inches.

Single- and two-drain systems less than 3 feet apart that fail  to meet one of the above requirements must be updated by adding, 1) Safety Vacuum Release System (SVRS), 2) Suction-Limiting Vent System, 3) Gravity Drainage System, 4) Automatic Pump Shut-Off System, 5) Drain Disablement, or 6) Other Systems determined by Consumer Product Safety Commission to be equally effective. Another option is to split the single drain into a dual-drain system with at least 3 feet of separation.

*Compliance has been a challenge, however, because of the shortage of the new drain covers. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety commission (CPSC), charged with enforcing the law, has seemed to signal that it would give some leeway in instances where covers were not yet available to certain drain configurations, despite good-faith efforts to obtain the covers.

      The CPSP currently does not appear to have manpower to enforce the law. " What they will more than likely do is invite state code officials or public health officials to make that part of their inspection process," says DiGiovanni. Fines for offenders may be as high as $1.8 million. "When people are low on enforcement capabilities, they will often catch one offender and make an example of him or her, " DiGiovanni explains.

**Please call (434) 295-8131 to speak with Pedro Pimentel, President of Aqua-Clean Pool Service, if you have any questions or concerns about the new law.