News

American with Disabilities Act -
New ADA Laws apply to public swimming pools

Effective March 15, 2011, new laws took affect that affect many public swimming pools, wading pools, and spas.  Compliance with these laws is required by March 15, 2012.

Who does this affect?

The swimming pool, wading pool, and spa guidelines that are now part of the ADA law are virtually the same for both Public Entities (Title II) and Public Accommodations (Title III) facilities.  Per the FSPA (Florida Spa and Pool Association), this will affect hotels and pools open to the public, but NOT APARTMENTS.  Please check with your attorney regarding your specific property.

What are the requirements?

The new law stipulates that any swimming pool with under 300 linear feet of pool wall must provide one means of access.  The means of access must be a pool lift or a sloped entry.

A pool that has over 300 linear feet of pool wall must provide two means of access, which can be any of the five designated means of access: pool lifts, sloped entries, transfer walls, transfer systems, or accessible pool stairs.

The criteria for these means of access can be found in chapter 10, section 1009 of the revised ADA guidelines.  Wading pools must have one means of entry and that must be a sloped entry.  Spas, both in-ground and portable, also must have one means of entry, which can be either a lift, transfer wall, or transfer system.  The specific requirements that swimming pools, wading pools and spas must meet can be found in chapter 2, section 242 of the revised ADA guidelines.