I am not currently using this webpage and not keeping the links updated.
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This webpage is a set of homework assignments for my lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor (the Red Cross swimming teacher certification) students. Outside users should notice that the codes my students research are for California but might be the same as other places and even though some of them apply to public pools, a prudent private pool owner should consider implementing the same standards or may need to by law.
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First, a brief lesson in electricity. When you plug an appliance into a wall outlet and turn it on, it does not use up all the electricity coming to it. The electricity returns into the wall outlet. A special type of outlet, a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI), constantly monitors the returning current. If the current does not return because it goes to ground… (for example through you or other people), because you:
put a boom box on a starting block next to a swimming pool and it falls in, then sending the electricity into the pool water and the aqua aerobics class members
or
work out in the rain with a power tool that has a frayed wire and the wet ‘hot’ wire sends the electricity into you
or
don’t have a long enough ‘suitable for use with outdoor appliances’ extension cord, so you string together a few that are not labeled for outdoor use, and not suitable for the distance/wattage of the mega-bright decorating lights you want to use, and the cord comes in contact with puddles on the deck and sends electricity into the water/people
… the GFI can prevent electrical shock by noticing the difference in the current and shutting off the current to the appliance/power tool (in as little as one-thirtieth of a second!).
Please note that GFIs can be damaged by lightning or other electrical surges and need to be tested regularly. Since they might not always be functional, putting that boom box/radio/hairdryer where it can fall in the swimming pool/spa/hot tub/bathtub/kitchen sink full of water is never a good idea.
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HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS
1) —At the Santa Clara County Public Health Department website: (copy and paste the following into your browser if it does not function as a link)
https://www.sccgov.org/sites/cpd/programs/RH/Documents/RH_Pool_Code.pdf
(no, you don’t have to read the whole thing) scroll through the pages and do this research:
1) find the section of the law about ground fault circuit interrupters and write out what fixtures need to be protected by them
2) find the section of the law that says whether dogs can be in a public pool or on the pool deck, and write what it says.
3) find out how big the letters on a sign need to be that says: “Warning-No Lifeguard on Duty”
4) How clear does water have to be in a wading pool?
5) How deep does water have to be under a three meter diving board?
6) How many people are allowed in a pool (not a spa)
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2) —read Safety Barrier Guidelines for Home Pools
http://www.cpsc.gov/PageFiles/116885/Pool.pdf
and write up the answers to these questions:
What percentage of child victims of drownings at home pools were last seen in the house?
What percent were trespassing on property where they didn’t live or belong?
What percent of the swimming pool accident victims were missing for five minutes or less before they were found in the pool drowned or submerged?
How tall should a fence / pool barrier be? (number of inches)
What is the maximum mesh size for a chain link fence?
How quickly after a door from a house to the pool is opened should the alarm sound? (number of seconds)
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3) —look at http://www.access-board.gov/recreation/guides/pdfs/pools.pdf
and find the answers to these questions:
Name the choices for a primary means of entry and the secondary means of entry for disabled persons at a swimming pool.
A large pool, (over 300 linear feet of pool wall), must have how many accessible means of entry for disabled persons?
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https://www.sccgov.org/sites/cpd/programs/RH/Documents/RH_Pool_Safety_Awareness_Handout.pdf