New 2009 Laws Affecting California Realtors - Pool & Spa Drains Safety

Here is the ninth installment of a mini-series about the new California laws for 2009 affecting Realtors® with licenses in California.

Given the age of many of the pools and spas in San Diego and other communities in California, this law will save lives! 

The new law states that pool drains must be properly covered: As a red alert for apartment and condo managers, all U.S. "public pools and spas" as defined must be equipped with anti-entrapment drain covers by December 19, 2008. The suction from pool and spa drains can be so strong as to entrap children, and cause injuries or drowning deaths. Under the new federal Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, a "public pool or spa" includes pools and spas open to the public, as well as those open exclusively to residents of multi-unit apartment buildings or multi-family residential areas (such as condominiums). The new law requires, among other things, that drain covers for pools and spas conform to the performance standard of ASME/ANSI A112.19.8-2007 and that single main drains be equipped with anti-entrapment devices as specified. For more information, visit the Web site of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which includes a list of manufacturers, given the uncertainty as to whether the supply of compliant drain covers is adequate. Source: S. 1771.

Interested in the other new California laws enacted for 2009?  Click here for the first, second, third, fourth,  fifth, sixth, seventh & eighth installments of the mini-series.

Copyright © 2008 Susan Laxson. All Rights Reserved. "New 2009 Laws Affecting California Realtors® - Pool & Spa Drains Safety".  Information from sources deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.