AB 1020 - Places Anti-Entrapment Requirements for Swimming Pools into State Law

Feldsott & Lee
A Law Corporation

Assembly Bill 1020 (hereinafter “AB 1020”) conforms California law to recently enacted federal pool safety standards by requiring all public swimming pools to be equipped with anti-entrapment devices or systems that meet federal requirements. Under current law, pool safety enforcement is not consistent statewide. This bill adopts new safety standards consistent with the federal law (Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Safety Act, effective 12-19-08) and requires the California Department of Public Health (DPH) and local agencies to provide oversight and enforcement of federal and state law requirements.

AB 1020 places into state law a requirement that all existing public swimming pools and spas, including those located in apartments and multi-residential buildings (including common interest developments), be equipped with drain covers that conform to the American National Standard ASME A112.19.8 – 2007 Suction Fitting for Use in Swimming Pools, Wading Pools, Spas, and Hot Tubs published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Additionally, all pumps in existing public swimming pools and spas with a single main drain that is not an unblockable drain must be equipped with one or more additional devices designed to prevent suction entrapment that meet ASME/ANSI performance standards or applicable consumer product safety rules. Every newly constructed public swimming pool must have at least two main drains per pump that are hydraulically balanced and symmetrically plumbed through one or more “T” fittings, and that are separated by a distance of at lease three feet in any dimension between the drains.

Public swimming pools constructed before January 1, 2010 would have to be retrofitted to comply with the requirements under AB 1020 no later than July 1, 2010. However, no further retrofitting is required for a public swimming pool that completed a retrofit between December 19, 2007 and January 1, 2010 that complies with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Safety Spa Act.

AB 1020 further requires the DPH to develop, and a public swimming pool owner to file, a form indicating compliance with the safety requirements of AB 1020. The DPH must post the form on its website by March 31, 2010. The form is required to include a certification by a qualified individual that the prescribed factual information provided on the form is true to the best of his or her knowledge. AB 1020 authorizes a fee for filing, and the DPH could also bill the owner of each public swimming pool in its jurisdiction for the amount of the state fee and remit money collected to the Controller.

The passage of AB 1020 presents additional costs for associations to consider. Cost of anti-entrapment devices, building permits and inspections per pool ranges from a few hundred to thousands or dollars. Cost to file the compliance report with the local government will be nominal. Failure to install anti-entrapment devices will result in a penalty of $1,000 per day (per the federal law).