RESORTS REPORT
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Resorts Moving Toward Compliance
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New VGB-approved pool drain options are available and many operators are taking action.
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by Kendra Kozen
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Spring 2009 |
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More drain cover solutions now are available, and it appears waterpark resort operators are moving toward compliance with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act currently in place. But some issues and questions still remain.
“For the most part, we are slowly seeing operators coming on board,” said Franceen Gonzales, vice president of risk management and aquatics at Great Wolf Resorts Inc., based in Madison, Wis.
Since the Dec. 19, 2008, deadline, new anti-entrapment measures — including certified drain covers — should be in place in all pools. But as of late 2008, waterpark operators were struggling to do so. Few, if any, drain covers had been approved for large-size unblockable drains and, in many cases, installing approved grates would cause an unacceptable change in flow rate or create a tripping hazard.
Now approved 18-by-18-inch and 24-by-24-inch options have come on the market, but given the range of drain configurations found in waterparks, most operators still need custom options. For cases where these manufactured grates won’t work, “there are some modular designs available, as well as raw material that meets the standard,” Gonzales says.
While Gonzales is seeing many in the industry coming on board, she noted that challenges remain. The VGB-compliant grates must meet the ASME/ANSI A112.19.8 standard, which requires UV testing for durability. So the best option for field-fabricated grates currently is stainless steel, and that may mean potentially costly electrical bonding.
Another issue may be meeting the sump depth requirement on field-fabricated drains, according to Registered Professional Engineer Dallas Wall, project manager at Cloward H2O in Provo, Utah. The ASME/ANSI standard requires a field-fabricated sump to have a depth of 1.5 times the diameter of the piping; however, drains that can be fitted with VGB-approved covers are exempt from the sump depth concerns. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s interpretation states that if compliant covers can be safely secured to pre-existing sumps and proper flow rates are maintained, then “it meets the intent of the law.”
Experts agree that because waterparks are all designed differently — with mostly field-fabricated grates — and different states have different requirements, operators who are not in compliance should contact registered design professionals.
“Operators need to know that just because they have dual drains or some other kind of SVRS does not mean the law doesn’t apply. It does apply,” Gonzales said. “Guests are savvy and just because your local health department isn’t knocking on your door doesn’t mean CPSC won’t. For that reason, it’s important to take action and be prepared with a response if an official or a guest asks whether you comply.”
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