[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Harrisburg
by Ord. No. 6-1995. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Every public swimming or wading pool shall be constructed as
provided in this chapter and so constructed as to facilitate cleaning.
It shall be maintained and operated in such manner as to be clean
and sanitary at all times. In artificial pools, inlets and outlets
shall be so located and spaced as to secure satisfactory dispersion
of the inflowing water throughout the pool.
All drainage from an artificial pool structure to a sewer receiving
domestic sewage shall be discharged into said sewer in such a manner
that sewage cannot be siphoned, flooded or otherwise discharged into
the pool.
There shall be an adequate area of deep and shallow water in
all swimming pools. There shall be no sudden changes of bottom slope
within the shallow depths of water. The slope of the bottom of any
part of the pool where the water is less than six feet deep shall
not be more than one foot in each 15 feet.
The one-foot increment of depths shall be marked on the sides
of the pool.
A sufficient number of inlets shall be provided and so located
as to provide adequate circulation through the pool. A sufficient
number of outlets shall be provided to permit complete draining of
the pool. Openings of the outlets shall be at least four times the
size of the discharge pipe and shall be covered with a suitable grating.
A scum gutter shall extend completely around the pool. The scum
gutter shall be so designed as to be easily cleanable and such that
material entering it will not be washed out by a sudden surge of entering
water and such that dangers of bathers catching arms or feet in it
shall be reduced to a minimum. A sufficient number of drainage outlets
shall be provided to carry away water entering a scum gutter during
surface flushing.
A sufficient number of steps or stairways shall be provided
in all swimming pools and shall be so constructed as to minimize danger
of accidents.
The pool walls shall be vertical, and the walls and floors shall
be constructed with white tile or light-colored cement or other impervious
material. The surface shall be smooth and permit easy cleaning.
Runways or sidewalks at least four feet wide and extending completely
around the pool shall be provided. They shall be properly drained,
easily cleanable and constructed of a nonslip material.
At all swimming pools, wading pools or bathing beaches, separate
dressing rooms shall be provided for each sex. Floors shall be well
drained, impervious to moisture and constructed of nonslip material.
Walls and partitions shall be constructed of smooth, impervious material,
without open cracks or joints. Screens shall be placed at the entrances
and exits of dressing rooms to break the line of sight.
At all swimming pools, wading pools and bathing beaches, an
adequate number and type of showers, toilets and lavatories shall
be provided and maintained for both sexes in accordance with the requirements
of this Public Health Code for public toilet facilities. The sewage
or excreta from toilet facilities provided in the vicinity of any
partly artificial pool or public bathing beach shall be disposed of
in a satisfactory manner so as not to pollute the water used for bathing.
A foot bath shall be provided at every exit from the dressing
rooms to a swimming or wading pool. The foot bath shall contain a
fungicidal solution, in adequate concentration, as a protection against
ringworm infection and should be of a sufficient size to insure contact
with the bathers' feet as they pass to the pool.
An adequate supply of hot and cold water of sufficient quality
and quantity for bathing purposes and proper circulation shall be
supplied.
There shall be no physical connection between the water supply
system used for drinking and sanitary purposes at a public bathing
place and the water in the bathing place or the recirculating water
supply system of the bathing place.
All drainage from a swimming pool structure to a sewer receiving
domestic sewage or other contaminated water shall be discharged into
the sewer in such a manner that sewage or other contaminated water
cannot be siphoned, flooded or otherwise discharged into the swimming
pool.
No bathing place shall be so located as to permit it to be adversely
affected by the discharge of sewage or objectionable industrial wastes,
nor shall it be so located that by its use it will adversely affect
the source of supply of a public water supply system.
Bathing suits and towels furnished to bathers by the management
must be thoroughly cleaned and dried each time they are used.
Premises shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition, well
ventilated, airy and well lighted.
Persons known to be typhoid fever carriers or known to be or
suspected of being afflicted with communicable diseases, eye, ear,
nose or throat infections or skin diseases shall be excluded from
bathing places.
The water used in all swimming or wading pools shall at all times have a chemical content and quality acceptable to the Health Officer, who, accordingly, will determine what purification processes, if any, are needed to accomplish this end. When filtration equipment is provided or required, such equipment shall be designed to have sufficient capacity to provide at least an eight-hour turnover period with a rate of filtration not to exceed 3.0 gallons per square foot per minute for all filters, except diatomaceous-earth filters, which shall have a filtration rate not to exceed 2.0 gallons per square foot per minute. In the case of filters other than diatomaceous-earth filters, the pumping equipment shall have sufficient capacity to provide a backwash rate of 12 gallons to 15 gallons per square foot per minute. Until the water in the pool meets the clarity standards of § 6-321.23, the filtration and recirculation equipment shall be operated continuously (24 hours per day if necessary) during the bathing season, except when the pool is out of service for needed repairs, draining and/or cleaning or for any emergency. Facilities shall be provided for measuring the flow of water through the filters. Adequate facilities shall be provided to assure that the specified filtration rates will not be exceeded under varying conditions.
A.
Approved and effective disinfection is required of the water in all
swimming and wading pools. Whenever chlorine or a compound of chlorine
is used without the use of ammonia for swimming or wading pool disinfection,
the chlorine residual in the water in all parts of the pool at all
times when the pool is in use shall not be less than 0.4 ppm or more
than 1.0 ppm, except where high free residual chlorination is practiced
as described below.
B.
When chlorine-ammonia treatment is used for disinfection, the combined
chlorine residual shall not be less than 0.5 ppm or more than 1.0
ppm
C.
High free residual chlorination may be practiced where it is deemed
practicable and advantageous. This process involves the maintenance
of relatively high free chlorine residual (1.0 ppm and above) with
accompanying higher pH values (usually pH 8.0 to 8.9). With this method
of disinfection, it is necessary to take extra precaution in making
the chlorine residual and pH tests.
D.
Satisfactory apparatus shall be provided for making the necessary
chlorine residual tests by the owner, operator or person who owns,
leases or runs the pool.
The bathing water in all swimming and wading pools shall have
a pH value of at least 7.0 at all times when the pool is in use. Satisfactory
apparatus for making the necessary pH tests shall be provided by the
owner, operator or person who owns, leases or runs the pool.
All water in the pool at the time of use shall be sufficiently
clear to permit a black disc six inches in diameter on a white field,
when placed on the bottom of the pool at the deepest point, to be
clearly visible from the runway around the deep area.
Samples from public swimming or wading pools shall be collected
and examined in accordance with the latest edition of Standard Methods
for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, as prepared and published
jointly by the American Public Health Association, the American Water
Works Association, and the Water Environment Federation.
A.
The water in swimming or wading pools shall be considered satisfactory
when:
(1)
Not more than one ten-milliliter portion of any sample shows a positive
test for coliform organisms using MPN procedures;
(2)
No two consecutive samples show a positive test for coliform organisms
in any ten-milliliter portion of any sample using MPN procedures;
(3)
Not more than 15% of the samples covering a considerable period of
time show positive test for coliform organisms in any of the five
ten-milliliter portions of any sample using MPN procedures; and
(4)
Satisfactory results for MFT procedures, one-hundred-milliliter samples
are obtained.
B.
Results that would be acceptable may be found in the Pennsylvania
Code or the Code of Federal Regulations.
Approval of natural bathing places will be based upon the results
of a sanitary survey of the site and the analytical findings (bacteriological
and chemical) of the water in the proposed bathing area.
The water in natural bathing places shall be considered acceptable
for bathing purposes, from a bacterial standpoint, when the average
MPN of coliform organisms of a representative number of samples is
less than approximately 1,000 per 100 milliliters.
The entire electrical installation provided for public bathing
places, their dressing and locker rooms and other indoor and outdoor
appurtenances shall comply with and be maintained in accordance with
the provisions of the Electrical Code of the Codified Ordinances.[1]
All electrical wiring accessible to bathers (if run exposed)
shall be in rigid conduit or electrical metallic tubing, and all boxes,
fittings and accessories used in damp or wet locations shall be so
installed and equipped as to prevent the entrance of water.
Distribution centers, where fused switches or circuit breakers
are grouped, shall be enclosed and located so as to be inaccessible
to other than authorized persons.
In addition to the grounding requirements for electrical equipment
and circuits as required by the Electrical Code, all water and other
piping to and from the public bathing place, including inlet and outlet
pipes, shall be metallically bound together and adequately connected
to the same grounding electrode used to ground the neutral conductor
of the electrical system.
Pumps, filters, and other mechanical and electrical equipment
shall be enclosed in such a manner as to be accessible only to authorized
persons and not to bathers. Construction and drainage shall be such
as to avoid the entrance or accumulation of water in the vicinity
of the electrical equipment.
The crossing of outdoor public bathing places by open overhead
electrical conductors is prohibited.
Overhead electrical conductors crossing playgrounds contiguous
to outdoor public bathing places shall comply with the requirements
of the National Electrical Safety Code Part 2.
All metal fences or railings on which a broken electrical conductor
might fall shall be effectively grounded. For this purpose, driven
ground rods shall be placed at two locations close to and on either
side of each crossing. For parallel exposure a ground shall be provided
near each end of the enclosure and at intervals of not less than two
feet within the exposure.
Construction, equipment, operation and maintenance at all public
bathing places shall be such as to reduce to a practical minimum the
danger of injury to persons from drowning, falls, collisions, fires,
nuisances or hazards of any kind.
Where gas chlorination equipment is installed at either outdoor
or indoor pools, such equipment shall be housed in a separate room
equipped with an exhaust fan to reduce to a practical minimum the
opportunity of gas leakage into other rooms or areas where persons
gather.
A capable manager or caretaker shall be in charge at all bathing
places who shall be responsible for the proper maintenance and use
of the bathing place, as required by applicable law, ordinance and
this Public Health Code. The manager shall be responsible for maintaining
the bathing place continually in a clean, sanitary and healthful manner
so that it will not constitute or be a menace to public health, promote
immorality or be a public nuisance.
An adequate number of competent lifeguards shall be on duty
at the waterside at all times the bathing place is open to use by
bathers, and shall not be assigned other tasks that will divert their
attention from the safety of the bathers. These lifeguards shall be
capable swimmers, skilled in lifesaving methods and in methods of
artificial resuscitation, as evidenced by their possession of a currently
valid certificate or other proof of proficiency from a recognized
agency offering instruction in these fields.
The management of any bathing place shall make, or cause to
be made, such physical, chemical and bacteriological examinations
of the water as may be prescribed by the Health Officer and shall
keep records of the operation and use thereof on forms satisfactory
to the Health Officer, and copies of such records shall be filed with
the Health Officer as he or she shall require.
