Your commercial pool is likely one of the busiest, and most loved, spots in your community. Kids and adults of all ages love the opportunity to soak up the sun, swim around, play sharks and minnows, and pretend to steer their very own pirate ship.
When people go to commercial pools, they often let their guard down. So it’s up to you to make sure your pool meets all the health department standards to keep your residents and guests safe.
With many federal, state, and local swimming pool regulations in place, we’ve mapped out some of the most important standards to follow. However, it’s important to review all the requirements for yourself. If you want in-person help making sure you’ve ticked all the boxes, contact Captains Pool Care, and we’ll come perform a thorough commercial pool inspection, bow to stern.
When it comes to pool safety, even the Captain has to listen to a higher rank: the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). Depending on which county you are located, your pool could be regulated by your county health department. These could be more stringent than state standards, but for now we will just focus on the DPH as these are the most common.
The DPH lays out guidelines for many facets of pool safety, including required safety equipment, how many people may be in a pool at a time, and proper water quality.
One of the most essential elements of any pool is the safety equipment, especially the barrier or fence around the pool. There have been many tragic stories of small children accidentally drowning in improperly fenced pools, and we want to take every step to avoid such a disaster.
This first step is making sure your barrier is at least four feet high. The gate to enter the swimming area should be self-latching and self-closing, meaning it can’t accidentally be left open by a distracted guest. Regularly check your gate to make sure these mechanisms are working properly.
Additionally, you should have proper signage, such as “No Diving” in shallow zones, as well as life-saving equipment including a body hook, ring buoy, and throwing rope.
An overcrowded pool can create a number of dangerous situations. To keep all mermaids and mermen safe, you should use these metrics to calculate how many swimmers are allowed:
The team at Captains can help you calculate proper bathing capacity to get it on the proper signage. In addition, if overcrowding is a consistent problem, you may also consider setting usage schedules or setting up an appointment system in your community.
With a large number of people using your pool on a daily basis, you need to ensure that the pool is properly sanitized. This requires carefully monitoring the chemical levels and adjusting them accordingly. It’s also another reason why you want to avoid overcrowding, as too many bathers will throw off the chemical balance.
If there is a fecal incident in your pool, you must immediately close down the pool while it is cleaned and disinfected, and cannot be reopened until that entire process is complete. Attempting to reopen early, due to demand will simply have guests swimming in an unsanitized pool and unsafe conditions.
Even with the right knowledge, it can be difficult for owners and property managers to keep up with shifting standards and regulations for swimming pools. The DPH rules and regulations alone are currently 114 pages of detailed requirements. Rather than try to steer the ship alone, reach out to the Captain and his crew and let us handle your commercial pool maintenance. We can help you implement all the necessary safety measures and monitor water levels to keep your guests swimming in clean, comfortable waters. Contact us today to get your pool back to ship-shape!
