1. (1) All owners, managers, lifeguards or swimming instructors in charge of, or working at, public swimming pools shall be responsible for the supervision and safety of the pool.

2. (2) Lifeguard and Swimming Instructor Requirements.

   1. (a) Definitions:

      1. “Lifeguard” – Person responsible for the safety of the users of a public swimming pool.

      2. “Nationally Recognized Aquatic Training Program” – A training and certification program for swimming instructors and lifeguards equivalent to the programs offered by the American Red Cross or the Y.M.C.A.

      3. “Swimming Instructor” – Person who offers progressive swimming instruction.

   2. (b) Lifeguards or swimming instructors, if provided, shall be in full charge of persons using the pool and shall have authority to enforce all rules. Lifeguards and swimming instructors shall be certified in lifeguarding or swimming instruction, respectively, by the American Red Cross, the YMCA or other equivalent national aquatic training agencies which meet the established standards, objectives and standards of care provided in the American Red Cross or YMCA programs. For the purpose of this rule, the standards found in the 2007 edition of the American Red Cross Lifeguarding Instructors Manual, the 2009 edition of the American Red Cross Water Safety Instructors Manual, the On the Guard, The YMCA Lifeguard Manual, (2011) Fifth Edition, (YMCA), The Youth and Adult Aquatic Program Manual (1999), and (YMCA) The Parent/Child and Preschool Aquatic Program Manual (1999), are hereby adopted by reference, have been deemed copyright protected, and are available for review at the Department of Health, Bureau of Environmental Health, 4025 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1710 or at the Department of State, R.A. Gray Building, 500 South Bronough Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250. Swimming instructors of developmentally disabled students shall also be certified in accordance with Section 514.072, F.S.
   3. (c) Lifeguards and swimming instructors shall also be currently certified in first aid and in adult, child and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation through the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, the National Safety Council, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, by Medic First Aid International, Inc., or by American Safety and Health Institute.
   4. (d) Swim coaches are exempted from the swimming instructor certification requirement when training advanced level swimmers for competition.
   5. (e) Verification of equivalence, as required above, shall be the responsibility of the department. The department shall form an ad hoc advisory group composed of professionals in the field of aquatics. This group shall consist of five members and shall make recommendations to the department regarding the equivalence of lifeguard or swimming instructor certification programs submitted to the department under paragraph (b), above. Members shall be appointed for a period of 3 years with such appointments being staggered so that the terms of no more than two members expire in any one year.
   6. (f) Lifeguard, swimming instructor, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid certificates or photocopies thereof shall be maintained at the pool location and be available for inspection by department personnel at any reasonable hour.

3. (3) Safety Equipment – All pools shall be equipped with the following:

   1. (a) Safety drain outlet cover(s)/grate(s) and allowable secondary anti-entrapment devices as required by Section 514.0315, F.S.
   2. (b) A shepherd’s hook securely attached to a one piece pole not less than 16 feet in length. Pools over 50 feet in length shall have a shepherd’s hook on each of the longer sides of the pool.
   3. (c) At least one 18 inch diameter lifesaving ring with sufficient rope attached to reach all parts of the pool from the pool deck. Pools over 50 feet in length shall have a lifesaving ring on each of the longer sides of the pool.
   4. (d) Safety equipment shall be mounted in a conspicuous place and be readily available for use.
   5. (e) Spa pools under 200 square feet of surface area, and interactive water features or wading pools with two feet or less of water depth are exempt from this shepherd’s hook and lifesaving ring requirement.
4. (4) Safety Lines – All pools with a slope transition shall maintain safety line anchors and a safety line in place at all times. A safety line may be temporarily removed from the pool for patrons to swim laps only when there is a safety attendant or lifeguard present, and it must be reinstalled to its proper location upon completion of the exercise.
5. (5) Pool covers and solar blankets shall only be used during times when the pool is closed. If a pool cover or solar blanket is installed, it shall be secured around the entire perimeter and designed to support a live load of an adult person, or the pool area shall be inaccessible to unauthorized individuals during times of cover or blanket use.
6. (6) Pool Rules and regulations – Rules for bathers shall be posted as approved by the jurisdictional building department.
7. (7) Night swimming – Pools shall not be open for swimming at night unless lighting is provided as approved by the jurisdictional building department. Pools authorized for night swimming shall be noted on the operating permit issued by the department. Night swimming shall be considered one half hour before sunset to one half hour after sunrise.
8. (8) Pools with heaters shall have a maximum water temperature of 104º F and a functional in-line thermometer.

9. (9) General Pool Maintenance for Patron Safety.

   1. (a) The bathing load shall be posted and the owner/operator shall not permit the bathing load to be exceeded at any time.
   2. (b) The filtration system for swimming pools shall be maintained as capable of meeting operating performance standards as identified on the most current operating permit. Flowrate may not be reduced or adjusted after the initial operating permit is issued unless approved in advance by the department. All other types of projects shall be maintained as sized according to the anticipated bathing load and proposed uses.
   3. (c) Access – All pools shall be maintained with a means of access as approved by the jurisdictional building department.

10. (10) General Equipment Maintenance for Safety –

    1. (a) Recirculation and treatment equipment such as, but not limited to filters, recessed automatic surface skimmers, ionizers, ozone generators, UV systems, automatic controllers, disinfection feeders and chlorine generators must be tested and approved using the NSF/ANSI Standard 50-2012. The standard and a list of certified products is available from www.NSF.org, and product certifications are available from other American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 3rd party accredited product certifiers. If standards do not exist for a specific product, the manufacturer should consult NSF or other ANSI accredited product certifier to develop such standards.
    2. (b) The recirculation system shall be operated to maintain a minimum of four turnovers of the pool volume per day (once per 6 hours). Pools that are less than 1000 square feet at health clubs are required to provide eight turnovers per day (once per 3 hours). Other pool types shall maintain the following minimum pool turnover rate: spa pool – 30 minutes; IWF – 30 minutes; wading pool ‒ 1 hour; water activity pool – 1 hour in pools two foot deep or less, or 2 hours in pools over two foot deep; zero depth entry pool – 1 hour in area less than three feet deep; water slide plunge pool – 2 hours; river ride – 3 hours, and wave pool – 3 hours. Validation of the turnover rate shall be determined by the rate of the flow indicator.

    3. (c) For compliance with Section 514.0315, F.S., and to ensure the safety of bathers:

       1. All safety features shall be tested and replaced when necessary, in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications. The operations manual shall be onsite.

       2. The owner/operator shall provide a completed form DH 4157, Pool Owner/Operator Verification of Entrapment Safety Features, 09/2015, herein incorporated by reference and available at HYPERLINK "http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-06898" http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-06898, to the department when a change in the safety feature occurs.

       3. For an existing pool with a suction limiting vent (SLV) system, the system shall be tested annually by a chapter 489, F.S., licensed pool contractor or a Florida licensed professional engineer to validate that the vacuum release timing is in compliance with the criteria for safety vacuum release systems in Section 514.0315(2)(a), F.S. A copy of the testing shall be submitted to the department with the annual operating permit renewal application.

    4. (d) Filters – Filters sized to handle the required recirculation flow shall be maintained to perform as originally installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications and remain functional as designed.

       1. The maximum filtration rate in gallons per minute per square foot of filter area shall be: fifteen (15), or twenty (20) if so approved utilizing the procedure in this chapter below for high rate sand filters, three (3) for rapid sand filters, three-hundred-seventy-five thousandths (375/1,000) for pleated cartridge filters, and two (2) for Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.) type filters.

       2. Pressure filter systems shall be maintained to perform as originally equipped with a functional air relief valve, influent and effluent pressure gauges with minimum face size of two inches reading 0-60 pounds per square inch (psi), and a sight glass when a backwash line is required.

       3. Vacuum filter systems shall be maintained to perform as originally equipped with a functional vacuum gauge which has a two inch face and reads from 0-30 inches of mercury.

       4. D.E. filter elements shall be maintained as installed with a minimum one inch clear spacing between elements. All cartridges used in public pool filters shall be maintained as permanently marked with the manufacturer’s name, pore size and area in square feet of filter material. All cartridges with end caps shall have the permanent markings on one end cap. The D.E. filter tank and elements shall be maintained as installed, such that the recirculation flow draw down does not expose the elements to the atmosphere whenever only the main drain valve is open.

    5. (e) Disinfection and pH adjustment shall be maintained as added to the pool recirculation flow using automatic feeders meeting the requirement of NSF/ANSI Standard 50-2012. All chemicals shall be fed into the return line after the pump, heater and filters, unless the feeder was designed by the manufacturer and approved by the NSF to feed to the collector tank or to the suction side of the pump. Feeding chlorinated isocyanurates disinfectant is prohibited in spas, wading pools and interactive water features. Dual or multiuse feeders can be used if approved for and feeding an acceptable rate of alternate disinfectant. Where pH adjustment feeders are not present on these three types of pools that were required to replace chlorinated isocyanurates feeders, pH adjustment feeders shall be installed. Exception: spa pools of 100 square feet or less with original department approval to be built without a pH adjustment feeder.

       1. Gas chlorination – When gas chlorination is utilized, the chlorinator shall be maintained as capable of continuously feeding a chlorine dosage of six (6) mg/L to the recirculated flow of the filtration system.

       a. Gas chlorinators shall be maintained in above grade rooms and in areas which are inaccessible to unauthorized persons.

       b. When booster pumps are used with the chlorinator, the pump shall use recirculated pool water supplied via the recirculation filtration system. The booster pump shall be maintained as electrically interlocked with the recirculation pump to prevent the feeding of chlorine when the recirculation pump is not operating.

       2. Hypohalogenation and Electrolytic chlorine generators – The hypohalogenation type feeder and electrolytic chlorine generators shall continuously feed a dosage of six (6) mg/L to the minimum required turnover flow rate of the filtration systems. Required backup chlorine feeders and generators shall be operated at least once per month and this test shall be recorded in the monthly pool log.

       3. Feeders for pH adjustment – Feeders for pH adjustment shall be provided on all pools. pH adjustment feeders shall be maintained as positive displacement type, shall be adjustable from zero to full range, and shall have an electrical interlock with the circulation pump to prevent discharge when the recirculation pump is not operating. When soda ash is used for pH adjustment, the maximum concentration of soda ash solution to be fed shall not exceed one-half pound soda ash per gallon of water. Feeders for soda ash shall be capable of feeding a minimum of three gallons of the above soda ash solution per pound of gas chlorination capacity. The minimum size of the solution reservoirs shall be maintained as not be less than 50 percent of the maximum daily capacity of the feeder. The solution reservoirs shall be marked to indicate the contents.

       4. Ozone generating equipment –

       a. The concentration of ozone in the return line to the pool shall not exceed 0.1 mg/L.

       b. Ozone generating equipment shall be maintained as equipped with an air flow meter and a means to control the flow. The generator shall be maintained as electrically interlocked with the recirculation pump to prevent the feeding of ozone when the recirculation pump is not operating. A flow sensor controller can also be used to turn off the feeder when flow is not sensed.

       5. UV equipment used for any purpose shall constantly produce a dosage of at least 40 mJ/cm2 (milliJoules per square centimeter).

       6. Ozone generators shall produce no more than a pool water contact concentration of 0.1 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The contact concentration in mg/L shall be calculated as the amount of ozone in grams per hours divided by the recirculation flow rate in gallons per minute times 4.41.

11. (11) Maintenance for Safety of Wading Pools –

    1. (a) Automated Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) and pH controllers with sensing probes shall be maintained to assist in maintaining proper disinfection and pH levels.
    2. (b) All wading pools shall have drainage to waste without a cross-connection through a quick opening valve to facilitate emptying the pool should a fecal accident occur. Should a fecal accident occur, the requirements of this chapter shall be met or the pool may be drained and both the pool and the filter system and all plumbing shall be properly disinfected.

12. (12) Maintenance for Safety of Spa Pools –

    1. (a) Oils, body lotions, and minerals – Oils, body lotions, and minerals or materials not associated with chemicals used for water chemistry balance, algae control, and disinfection of the water are prohibited in the spa pool.
    2. (b) Automated Controllers – Automated Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) and pH controllers with sensing probes shall be provided and maintained on spa pools to assist in maintaining proper disinfection and pH levels.
    3. (c) Spa pool signs shall be posted as approved by the jurisdictional building department.
    4. (d) Should a fecal accident occur, the requirements of this chapter shall be met or the spa pool may be drained and both the spa pool and the filter system and all plumbing shall be properly disinfected.

13. (13) Maintenance for Safety of Water Recreation Attractions and Special Purpose Pools – A lifeguard and/or safety plan shall be submitted to the department with the application for the initial operation permit of water slide plunge pools and water activity pools when climbable structures are installed.

    1. (a) Water slide plunge pools.

       1. Pump reservoir volume minimum shall be equal to three minutes of the combined flow rate in gpm of all filter and slide pumps.

       2. Pump reservoirs shall be accessible only to authorized individuals.

       3. Filter areas minimum requirements shall be maintained as twice the filter areas specified for the recirculation rates stipulated for other pools in this chapter and FBC Section 454.1. The filtration system shall be capable of returning the pool water turbidity to five-tenths NTU within eight hours or less after peak bather load.

       4. Disinfection equipment shall be maintained as capable of feeding 12 mg/L of halogen to the continuous recirculation flow of the filtration system.

    2. (b) Water activity pools.

       1. The recirculation-filtration system of water activity pools shall achieve a minimum of one turnover every two hours for water activity pools over two feet deep, and in one hour for these pools that are two feet deep or less.

       2. All water activity pool signs shall be posted as approved by the jurisdictional building department.

    3. (c) The recirculation-filtration system for zero depth entry pools shall be of a minimum of one turnover every two hours in the area of the pool that is three feet deep or less. In the remainder of the pool where the depth is greater than three feet, the system shall have a maximum six hour turnover rate.
    4. (d) Special purpose pool projects may deviate from the requirements of other sections of this chapter. Only those deviations necessary to accommodate the special usage shall be allowed and all other aspects of the pool shall comply with the requirements of this chapter and the FBC section 454.1. The operating permit shall state the purpose for which the pool is to be used.

    5. (e) Interactive Water Features (IWFs).

       1. An automatic skimmer system shall be maintained if provided in the collector tank. A variable height skimmer may be used or a custom surface skimmer device may be substituted.

       2. Chemical feeders shall be maintained as in accordance with this chapter, except that the disinfection feeder shall be capable of feeding 12 mg/L of free chlorine to the pressure side of the recirculation system or the collector tank (based upon a hypothetical 30 minute turnover of the contained volume within the system). Automated Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) and pH controllers with sensing probes shall be provided to assist in maintaining proper disinfection and pH levels.

       3. Hydraulics.

       a. The filter system shall filter and chemically treat all water that is returned to the spray features. The filter system shall draft from the collector tank and return filtered water directly to the spray features. Excess water not required by the spray features shall be returned to the collector tank.

       b. Alternatively, the contained volume of the system may be filtered and chemically treated based upon a 30 minute turnover of the contained volume with 100% returned to the collector tank by manifold piping. If this alternative is chosen, all water returned to the spray feature(s) must also be treated with an Ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection equipment to accomplish protozoan destruction in accordance with sound engineering. This alternative must have the ability to feed 6 mg/L free chlorine to the feature water as it is returned to the spray feature. The UV disinfection equipment shall be electrically interconnected such that whenever it fails to produce the required UV dosage, the water spray features pump(s) and flow will be immediately stopped.

       c. An automatic water level controller shall be provided.

       d. Where the filter system described in sub-subparagraph 3.a., above, is utilized, a second filter system and disinfection system shall be provided to treat the water in the collector tank when the feature/filter pump is not in operation. Said system shall be capable of filtering the total volume of water in the collector tank in 30 minutes and the disinfection system shall be capable of providing 12 mg/L of disinfectant to this flow rate.

       4. All IWF pool rule signs shall be posted as approved by the jurisdictional building department.

    6. (f) Rules and regulations for water theme parks shall be posted as approved by the jurisdictional building department.

Rulemaking Authority 381.006, 514.021, 514.071 FS. Law Implemented 381.0015, 381.006, 514.021, 514.025, 514.03, 514.031, 514.0315, 514.05, 514.06, 514.071 FS. History–New 10-5-93, Formerly 10D-5.134, 10D-5.137, Amended 12-27-98, 5-27-04, 5-24-09, 7-20-16.