Since the Dec. 19, 2008, deadline, regardless of size, shape or depth, every pool and spa in the nation is required to comply with the federal Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. But given the fact that waterpark pools often are very different than the standard pool drains around which the legislation was crafted, waterpark resort industry professionals are having a hard time doing so.
“The act references an ASME standard where the test parameters were limited to grates 18-by-18-inches or smaller. Grates larger than that are prevalent in waterparks because water attractions have large bather loads and need large volumes of water to circulate,” said Franceen Gonzales, vice president of risk management & aquatics at Great Wolf Resorts Inc., based in Madison, Wis.
Signed into law in 2007, the legislation mandates new safety requirements, including installation of certified drain covers to prevent entrapment accidents.
According to the VGB Act, operators also may face a shutdown, or worse, if found to be in violation. “Owners/operators must understand that they will be in jeopardy with the federal government if they don’t work toward compliance,” said Scott Wolfson, CPSC spokesman.
What does that mean for waterpark resorts, for which there is simply no product available to meet their needs?
“Both the CPSC and state governing bodies have recommended that initially we all contact our design architects to at least identify affected areas and enter discussions regarding potential ideas for becoming compliant,” said Daylene Stroebe, corporate waterpark operations and corporate compliance director at Kalahari Resorts, based in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. “As long as businesses are showing a ‘good faith’ effort by at least creating a plan or placing future orders, we’ve been assured there will be no immediate violations issued.”
In terms of enforcement, CPSC Acting Chairwoman Nancy Nord said the agency will be concentrating its enforcement efforts on the pools possessing the greatest risk — children’s pools, wading pools and inground spas. However, Congress has not yet appropriated funding for enforcement.
There’s hope that some more permanent solutions will be put in place to facilitate true compliance. “But waterparks nationwide are waiting for some promised additional direction from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, regarding how and when exactly we are to come in to compliance,” Stroebe said.
Wolfson said he understands the unique position of waterpark and waterpark resort operators. Currently, the agency is considering several requests for enforcement discretion, which would allow it to grant a temporary reprieve of legal action provided the requesting agency follows through on a CPSC-approved plan to work toward compliance.
Last month, aquatics industry organizations began urging pool operators to contact CPSC and lawmakers to request an extension of the Dec. 19 deadline, but no changes are pending.
Gonzales pointed to efforts to create a new standard specific to waterparks. “ASTM has formed a task group to write a standard that will incorporate the ASME standard, as well as other ASTM and ANSI standards as they pertain to drain systems in waterpark attractions,” she said. “We believe this work can satisfactorily address anti-entrapment, and do so in the context of waterpark
attractions, especially in the areas where there are special design considerations that were not considered in the ASME standard and the VGB Act.”
A draft of a new standard may be available in just a few months; however, once it’s adopted, lawmakers will have to make technical amendments to the VGB Act to include it.
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