MOUNT VERNON — The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act went into effect Dec.19, which requires that all public pools/spas have entrapment prevention covers placed over main drains.
The systems or devices must comply with the standards established with the American National Standards Institute and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
When the Hiawatha Water Park/Pool was built a couple of years ago, many safety precautions were installed in the pools to help prevent accidents, said Jerry Clinger of Mount Vernon’s recreation department.
“Our drains, the entrapment covers over our drains, are state-of-the-art,” he said. “Our pool has taken several safety precautions with the water lines and drain entrapment covers so that we have the top-of-the-line.
“We’re still struggling to find out what this new law and new code is going to be like; in fact, our pool construction company, Patterson Pools out of Columbus, we’ve contacted them and they have been in contact with the lawmakers trying to get exactly what is necessary,” he continued. “And they can’t find where to buy those yet, the law is so new that they are not totally certain about the standards.”
Clinger said he received a letter Friday from Patterson Pool which stated “whatever the standards are and whatever the drains are supposed to look like, rest assured that we are going to have them to you, and we will install them and have them on before your opening day.”
“Luckily, since we don’t open until right around June 1, we will have time to deal with this through the spring, and Patterson, who was a terrific company to work with to build our pool, is all over it and is going to take care of it,” said Clinger.
Kokosing Valley Camping & Canoe owner, Craig Gilmore, has also been looking into the requirements of the law. His pool does not open until next May.
“We have some time,” he said. “We have a lot of literature on it and people advertising. I am going to be going to different campground trade shows and just kind of get a feel for what other campgrounds are doing. I’ve talked to the health department about [the drain cover regulations].”
The drain covers ordered by Comfort Inn are on back order, said Mary Smith, manager.
“We are still waiting; we ordered them some time ago. We are waiting on three [drain covers], one for the pool and two for the hot tub,” she said. “With all the orders coming in and only a few companies making them, I can see why they are backed up.”
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is in charge of regulating the new law, said Kristopher Weiss, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health.
The Virginia Graeme Baker Act requires pool and spa operators to install a drain grate cover, something that wasn’t required in Ohio, Weiss explained. There are some other parts of the law that do overlap with Ohio law, he said, but this act is unique to what was previously required because of the entrapment prevention drain cover.
Ohio does have pool regulations regarding the operation and care of pools and spas; the ODH regulates these laws.
