Township of Marple, PA Swimming Pools

The following rules and regulations of the Board of Health, Marple Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, governing the design, construction, equipment and operation of swimming pools and public bathing places within the Township, and the licensing thereof within the Township, adopted by the Board of Health on Tuesday, March 19, 1957, be and the same are hereby adopted and approved.

§ 269-2 Title.

Rules and Regulations of the Board of Health, Marple Township, Governing the Design, Construction, Equipment and Operation of Swimming Pools and Public Bathing Places and the Licensing Thereof Within the Township.

§ 269-3 Definitions.

For the purpose and within the meaning of these rules and regulations, the following definitions shall obtain.

ACCESSORY FACILITIES

Includes, but shall not be limited to, diving boards, sanitary facilities, dressing rooms, eating areas, lounging areas and other facilities used in connection with the pool.

BOARD

The Board of Health, Marple Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

PERSON

Any natural person, association, partnership, firm or corporation, and any agent, servant, employee or representative thereof.

POOL

Includes any structure, whether permanent or portable, fashioned of stone, concrete, cement, cinder or cement block, earth, fiberglass, rigid plastic, tile or other material either permanently affixed on or into the ground, filled or partially filled with water, or portable and having a diameter exceeding eight feet and being capable of being filled with water to a depth exceeding two feet, or having a square foot area exceeding 100 feet and being capable of being filled with water exceeding two feet, and in all cases being intended for swimming or public bathing by human beings.

PRIVATE POOL

Includes any pool located on residential or other property, the use of which is limited by the owner thereof to his or her own family and such guests as shall be admitted to the pool and its accessory facilities by the owner thereof.

PUBLIC POOL

Includes any pool open to the general public with or without the payment of a fee for the use of the pool or its accessory facilities.

SEMIPUBLIC POOL

Includes any pool the use of which is limited to persons qualifying for membership in a club, association, organization or similar organizations, or the guests of such person or persons purchasing bonds or other obligations of a club, association, company, corporation, organization or similar organization, as a prerequisite to use of the pool or its accessory facilities.

STANDARD METHODS

Refers to Standard Methods for the Examination of Water, Sewage and Industrial Wastes, 10th Edition, 1955, prepared and published jointly by the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association and the Federation of Sewage and Industrial Wastes Associations, or such later edition as may be published following the adoption of these regulations.

In these rules and regulations, the singular shall include the plural, and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.

§ 269-4 Construction requirements.

Effective with the date on which these rules and regulations are approved by the Board of Commissioners of the Township, no swimming pool or other public bathing place shall be constructed in the Township unless and until the following conditions shall have been met:

No public or semipublic pool or other public or semipublic bathing place shall be constructed except in accordance with at least the minimum requirements for such structures set forth in the Report of the Joint Committee on Bathing Places of the American Public Health Association and Conference of State Sanitary Engineers: Recommended Practice for the Design, Equipment and Operation of Swimming Pools and Other Public Bathing Places, 1949, or later edition, published by the American Public Health Association. Any persons desiring to construct such public or semipublic swimming pool or other public bathing place shall, prior to such construction, submit to the Board for approval a plan or sketch of the proposed construction, in sufficient detail to permit determination of compliance with the minimum specifications set forth above, and shall not begin such construction until approval of the proposed plan or sketch has been received, in writing, from the Board.

No private pool or other bathing place shall be constructed in the Township unless, prior to such construction, a plan or sketch in sufficient detail to permit determination that the proposed construction will not constitute a health hazard in the Township shall be submitted to and shall be approved in writing by the Board.

Any person desiring to construct any pool or other public bathing place in the Township shall, at the time the plan or sketch referred to in Subsections A and B of these rules and regulations is submitted to the Board, pay to the Township an application fee according to the following schedule:

[Amended 6-10-1985 by Ord. No. 85-7]

(1)

Public or semipublic pools or bathing places: as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners.

(2)

Private pools or bathing places: as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners.

In the event that the required plan or sketch referred to in Subsections A and B of these rules and regulations is not approved by the Board, the application fee described in Subsection C shall not be returned to the applicant, but the applicant shall be permitted to submit a corrected or amended plan or sketch to the Board for approval without payment of an additional fee.

§ 269-5 License fees.

[Amended 6-9-1980 by Ord. No. 80-10; 6-10-1985 by Ord. No. 85-7; 9-11-1989 by Ord. No. 89-23]

Effective with the date of approval of these rules and regulations by the Board of Commissioners of the Township, every person desiring to operate any pool or other bathing place in the Township shall, on or before May 1 of each calendar year, pay to the Township an annual license fee according to the following schedule:

Public or semipublic pools or bathing places: as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners.

§ 269-6 Fee to be paid in advance.

In the case of a pool or other bathing place the construction of which is completed after May 1 of any calendar year, the license fee as described in § 269-5 shall be paid to the Township before such pool or bathing place is placed in operation. In all cases the full annual license fee shall be paid without regard to the date on which application for such license is made.

§ 269-7 Availability or posting of license.

The annual license issued by the Township as described above shall be plainly posted or readily produced by the operator of the pool for examination by agents or representatives of the Township or the Board.

§ 269-8 Inspections; notice, failure to comply.

The Board shall, at its discretion, make inspections of all pools or bathing places in the Township at such times and frequency as the Board shall deem advisable in order to determine that no condition exists in or at the pool or bathing place which shall constitute a health hazard to the Township or the users of the pool or bathing place or their accessory facilities. In the event that a health hazard is detected, the owner or operator of the pool or bathing place shall be so notified and shall be given such time as the Board shall deem sufficient to correct the condition or defect which creates the health hazard. Failure to correct the condition or defect creating the health hazard within the time period authorized by the Board shall result in either revocation of the annual license issued for the pool or bathing place by the Township and the closing of the pool or bathing place or the imposition of such fines or penalties as are prescribed by these rules and regulations, or both.

§ 269-9 Temporary closing in case of emergency.

Whenever in the opinion of the Board an emergency of a health nature exists in the Township, the Board may order the temporary closing of any or all pools or bathing places in the Township until such time as the Board directs that the health emergency no longer exists.

§ 269-10 Rules of operation.

The following rules of operation of pools or public bathing places within the Township shall be observed effective with the date of approval of these rules and regulations by the Board of Commissioners of the Township.

All pools shall be treated with such agents as are suitable to maintain the bacterial content of the water in the pool at a level consistent with safe use by human beings.

(1)

The introduction of the bactericidal agent referred to in Subsection A above shall, in the case of public or semipublic pools or bathing places, be made by approved metering devices unless otherwise authorized by the Board.

(2)

The introduction of the bactericidal agent referred to in Subsection A above shall, in the case of private pools, be made in such fashion as will maintain a satisfactory bactericidal level of the agent in the water.

All pools shall be treated with such agents as are suitable to maintain the algicidal content of the water in the pool at a level consistent with safe use by human beings.

(1)

The requirements for introduction of the algicidal agent described in Subsection B above shall be made as described for public or semipublic pools or bathing places in Subsection A(1) above and for private pools or bathing places in Subsection A(2) above.

The minimum required concentration of bactericidal agent in all pools shall be as follows:

(1)

Chlorine-type agents: 0.5 ppm.

(2)

Chloramine-type agents: 0.7 ppm.

(3)

Other agents: as approved by the Board.

The minimum required concentration of algicidal agent in all pools shall be that approved by the Board for the particular agent proposed for use by the owner or operator of the pool or other bathing place.

Every person operating a pool or other bathing place shall, at the frequency described below, perform or have performed tests according to standard methods to determine that the quality of the water in the pool is safe for human beings.

(1)

Public or semipublic pools or bathing places:

(a)

Residual bactericidal-agent-content test: as often as necessary during periods of heavy use of the pool but not less frequently than four times daily at approximately equal intervals during the daily period in which the pool is in use.

(b)

Determination of total bacterial count: not less frequently than once each week during the period the pool is in use.

(c)

Coliform bacteria determination: not less frequently than once each week during the period in which the pool is in use.

(2)

Private pools or other bathing places:

(a)

All tests shall be performed as frequently as is required to ensure the maintenance of the pool in a condition safe for use by human beings.

The standards for a bacteriologically safe water shall be those described in the aforementioned Recommended Practice for Design, Equipment and Operation of Swimming Pools and Other Pools and Other Public Bathing Places, 1949 or later Edition, issued by the American Public Health Association, and the laboratory performing the required tests shall state that the test results do or do not meet the required standards.

The time, date, results and the name and address of the person by whom performed, of all tests required by Subsection E above, shall be recorded and such records preserved for examination by the Board for a period of 12 months from the date of performance of the test.

(1)

In the event that the bacteriological test results indicate that the water in the pool is unsuitable for use by human beings, the pool shall be immediately closed to use and shall remain closed until subsequent bacteriological test results indicate that the pool is again safe for human use. On receipt of any report that a pool is bacteriologically unsafe for use by humans, a copy of the report will be immediately delivered to the Board, together with a statement that the pool has been closed and will remain closed until found to be safe for use.

Public and semipublic swimming pools shall be equipped with an efficient, approved-type filtration system designed to circulate and filter the pool water. An efficient system or apparatus shall be used to maintain the bottom of the pool in a clean and sanitary condition. The pool and its accessory facilities shall at all times be kept in a state of good repair and free of defects which might adversely affect the health of those using the pool.

Private pools shall be maintained in such manner and with such equipment as will keep the water clean and free of debris and the pool bottom clean.

All public and semipublic pools or other public bathing places shall be equipped with washroom and sanitary facilities constructed in accordance with standard practices and existing Township ordinances. Such pools may or may not be equipped with dressing room facilities, but when so equipped the dressing room or rooms shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.

No food shall be served or consumed within the limits of any pool nor within an area of 20 feet from the sides of the pool. Where the service and consumption of food outside of the above area is permitted by the owner or operator of the pool, suitable containers shall be provided for the disposal of unconsumed food, food wrappings, containers, etc. Such disposal containers shall be such as to prevent access to the contents by flies and other insects.

The areas surrounding all pools, washroom facilities, dressing room facilities, eating areas, etc., shall at all times be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. At least once each day, or oftener if required, all such areas and facilities shall be cleaned and sprayed or otherwise treated with approved disinfecting agent in such concentration as shall render the areas and facilities safe for human use. When necessary, an approved extermination agency or firm shall be employed to maintain the pool and its adjacent areas in a rodent-free condition.

The discharge of water from any pool, including pool backwash water and pool cleaning wastewater, is not permitted to be discharged into any Township sanitary or storm sewer, street right-of-way, stream, drainage ditch, creek, pond, waterway or onto any adjoining property. The emptying or discharge of water from any pool shall be carried out in such a manner as to not create either a health hazard or nuisance to the pool owners, adjoining property owners or the Township.

[Amended 5-12-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-5]

No person with open lesions of the skin shall be admitted to any pool in the Township.

No animals shall be permitted in any pool intended for human use nor in or on the accessory facilities of the pool. A conspicuous notice warning users of the pool of the prohibition against the admission of animals shall be plainly posted at the entrance to all public or semipublic pools or other public bathing places.

§ 269-11 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 6-12-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-10]

Any person, firm or corporation who or which shall violate any of the rules and regulations aforesaid, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution, and in default of payment of such fine and costs by imprisonment for not more than 30 days. It is hereby declared that each refusal or neglect to comply with the terms of these rules and regulations shall be considered as a separate violation thereof, and notice to the offender by the Board of Health or the Township shall not be necessary in order to constitute an offense.