No person shall construct a swimming pool or other bathing place in the Borough without complying with the provisions of this chapter, Chapter
122, Construction Codes, Uniform, and all sanitary regulations of the Health Officer. Any person proposing to construct a swimming pool shall first submit plans therefor to the Building Inspector, the Plumbing Inspector and the Health Officer. Before construction is begun, such plans must have been approved by all of such officers.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
POOL
Any structure fashioned of stone, concrete, cement, cinder
or cement block, earth, fiberglass, rigid plastic, tile or other material,
permanently affixed on or into the ground, filled or partially filled
with water, and intended for swimming or public bathing by human beings.
PRIVATE POOL
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 are admitted to the pool and its accessory facilities
by the owner thereof.
A.
Private pools of the "kiddie" type shall not
exceed eight feet in diameter by 16 inches in height or an equivalent
area in any shape.
B.
Private pools shall also include those pools larger than those designated in Subsection
A hereof but which are of semipermanent or collapsible construction.
PUBLIC POOL
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
Any pool, the use of which is limited to persons qualifying
for membership in a club, association or similar organization, or
the guests of such persons, or persons purchasing bonds or other obligations
of a club, association, company, corporation or similar organization
as a prerequisite to use of the pool or its accessory facilities.
STANDARD METHODS
Standard Methods for the Examination of Water, Sewage and
Industrial Wastes, Tenth 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 adopted following the adoption of
this chapter.
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 person desiring to
construct such a public or semipublic swimming pool or other public
bathing place shall, prior to such construction, submit to the Health
Officer 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 Health Officer.
No private pool or other bathing place shall be constructed in the Borough 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 Borough, is submitted to, and is approved in writing by, the Health Officer. All private pools, except those pools of the "kiddie" type, must be surrounded by a fence of substantial construction not less than four feet in height. This rule shall also apply to pools described in Subsection B of the definition of "private pool" in §
270-2.
Every person desiring to operate any pool or
other bathing place in the Borough shall, on or before May 1 of each
year, pay to the Borough an annual license fee according to the following
schedule:
A. Public or semipublic pools or bathing places: $25.
B. Private pools or bathing places: $5.
In the case of a pool or other bathing place, the construction of which is completed after May 1 of any year, the license fee described in §
270-6 shall be paid to the Borough 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 the license is made.
The annual license issued by the Borough, as described in §§
270-6 and
270-7, shall be plainly posted or readily produced by the operator of the pool for examination by agents or representatives of the Health Officer.
The Health Officer shall, as and when it sees fit, make inspections of all pools or bathing places in the Borough in order to determine that no condition exists in or at the pool or bathing place which constitutes a health hazard to the Borough or the users of the pool or bathing place or their accessory facilities. In the event that 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 Health Officer deems 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 period authorized by the Health Officer shall result in either revocation of the annual license issued for the pool or bathing place by the Borough and the closing of the pool or bathing place, or the imposition of such fines or penalties as are prescribed in §
270-12, or both.
Whenever, in the opinion of the Health Officer,
an emergency of a health nature exists in the Borough, the Health
Officer may order the temporary closing of any or all pools or bathing
places in the Borough until such time as the Health Officer determines
that the health emergency no longer exists.
No person shall violate or fail to comply with
any of the following rules of operation of pools or bathing places
within the Borough:
A. 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 bacteriocidal agent referred
to above shall, in the case of public or semipublic pools or bathing
places, be made by approved metering devices unless otherwise authorized
by the Health Officer.
(2) The introduction of the bacteriocidal agent referred
to above shall, in the case of private pools, be made in such fashion
as will maintain a satisfactory bacteriocidal level of the agent in
the water.
B. 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. The requirements for introduction of such algicidal agent shall be made as described for public or semipublic pools or bathing places in Subsection
A(1) hereof and for private pools or bathing places as described in Subsection
A(2) hereof.
C. The minimum required concentration of bacteriocidal
agents 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.
D. The minimum required concentration of algicidal agents
in all pools shall be that approved by the Health Officer for the
particular agent proposed for use by the owner or operator of the
pool or other bathing place.
E. 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 other bathing places:
(a)
Residual bacteriocidal 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: all tests shall
be performed as frequently as is required to insure the maintenance
of the pool in a condition safe for use by human beings.
F. 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.
G. The time, date, results and the name and address of the person by whom performed, of all tests required by Subsection
E hereof, shall be recorded and such records preserved for examination by the Health Officer for a period of 12 months from the date of performance of the test. 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. Upon receipt of any report that a pool is bacteriologically unsafe for use by humans, a copy of the report shall be immediately delivered to the Health Officer together with a statement that the pool has been closed and will remain closed until found to be safe for use.
H. 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.
I. Private pools shall be maintained in such a manner
and with such equipment as will keep the water clear and free of debris
and the pool bottom clean.
J. All public and semipublic pools and other public bathing
places shall be equipped with washroom and sanitary facilities constructed
in accordance with standard practices and existing Borough 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.
K. No food shall be served or consumed within the limits
of any pool or 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 and the like. Such disposal containers shall be such as
to prevent access to the contents by flies and insects.
L. The area surrounding all pools, washroom facilities,
dressing room facilities, eating areas and other facilities used in
connection with the pool 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 an 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.
M. At such times as the water in any pool is drained,
such emptying of the water shall be carried out in such a manner as
not to create either a health hazard or a nuisance to the users of
the pool or the Borough.
N. No person with open lesions of the skin shall be admitted
to any pool in Borough.
O. No animal shall be permitted in any pool intended
for human use or 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.
P. Except as provided in Subsection
Q hereof, a separate supply of water shall be used as a pool supply, i.e., pools are not to be connected to the normal house supply.
Q. The supply of water for pools designated in §
270-2 under the definition of "private pool" may be taken from house water service, provided that the filler nozzle is mounted at least 12 inches above the high water level of the pool.
R. Recirculating water must be filtered and chlorinated
before reentry into a pool. This includes all water collected from
splash areas for reuse in a pool. Splash water not reused must be
discharged into an underground drainage system, as described in subsection(s)
hereof.
S. Effluent from all pools must be drained into a stormwater
sewer by means of an underground drainage system and/or by means of
the nearest trap fixture to a sanitary sewer. Water must be post-chlorinated
before discharge.
Whoever violates or fails to comply with any
of the provisions of this chapter shall be fined not less than $100
nor more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than 10 days in the Borough
lockup or not more than 30 days in the county jail or workhouse, or
both such fine and imprisonment. A separate offense shall be deemed
committed each day during or on which a violation or noncompliance
occurs or continues. It is hereby declared that a violation or failure
to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject
to prosecution without notice of such violation or noncompliance having
been given to the offender by the Health Officer.