ISDH: Public Swimming Pool and Spa Program

Note: This message is displayed if (1) your browser is not standards-compliant or (2) you have you disabled CSS. Read our Policies for more information.

Governor Mitch Daniels

List of sub-sites Home

Environmental Public Health Home > Public Swimming Pool and Spa Program Public Swimming Pool and Spa Program

Program Overview

Welcome to the home page for the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) Public Swimming Pool Program. ISDH’s Environmental Health Program staff train local health department personnel on how to maintain a safe and healthy pool or spa environment, and they provide technical assistance. They also conduct a one day swimming pool training session for pool owners and operators each spring. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security’s Division of Fire and Building Safety reviews and approves plans for construction or public swimming pools.

Announcements / Current News

Hyperchlorination to kill Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidium (or "Crypto") is a chlorine resistant parasite that causes a diarrheal disease called Cryptosporidiosis. Even well-maintained pools, water parks, and interactive fountains can spread Crypto among swimmers. The Centers for Disease Control has updated recommendations for treating water venues to eliminate Crypto. CDC Fact Sheet on Crypto.

Spas, Hot Tubs, and Whirlpools Safety Alert or (PDF Version)
Discusses hazards associated with spas and hot tubs; and precautions to prevent deaths and injuries.

Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act - [PDF 42 KB]
The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act promotes the safe use of pools, spas and hot tubs by imposing mandatory federal requirements for suction entrapment avoidance and by establishing a voluntary grant program for states with laws that meet certain minimum requirements as outlined in the Act. Effective December 20, 2007, the Act is being administered by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). More Information

Contact the Program

Indiana State Department of Health
Environmental Public Health Division
2 North Meridian Street, 5-E
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-1325 (ISDH Main Switchboard)
Map

Division Director
Mike Mettler
mmettler@isdh.in.gov
(317) 233-7183
(317) 233-7173 [Administrative Assistant]
(317) 233-7047 [Fax]

Questions: engineering@isdh.in.gov

Directories

City and County Health Departments

Drinking water chemistry laboratories (Indiana-certified)

Water microbiology laboratories (Indiana-certified)
Public water supply samples are required to be tested by a certified laboratory.

Employment Opportunities

Learn more about Employment Opportunities with the Indiana State Department of Health.

Forms

Daily Log of Public Swimming Pool Operating Conditions
This log is printable.

Injury/Incident Report Form
This form is printable.

Permit Application for Construction or Alteration of a Public Swimming Pool
This is an Indiana Department of Homeland Security Permit Application form.

Guidelines for Entrapment Hazards: Making Pools and Spas Safer
The guidelines provide safety information that will help identify and eliminate dangerous entrapment hazards in swimming pools, wading pools, spas, and hot tubs. They address the hazards of body entrapment, hair entrapment/entanglement, and evisceration/disembowelment. These guidelines are intended for use in building, maintaining, and upgrading public and private pools and spas.

Hand Washing.
Information on why hand washing is important; how diseases are spread; when hands should be washed; the proper way to wash hands; and how hand washing can protect you and your family.

Healthy Swimming Protection
Healthy Swimming behaviors are needed to protect you and your kids from RWIs (recreational water illnesses) and will help stop germs from getting in the pool in the first place.

How to Plan For the Unexpected - Preventing Child Drownings -- in PDF
Discusses how to reduce risks of child drownings in residential swimming pools. Gives safety tips and provides guidance for fences and gates, pool covers, barriers, alarms, etc.

Irritants (Chloramines) and Indoor Pool Air Quality
Pool operators may be getting complaints from swimmers and pool staff about stinging eyes, nasal irritation, or difficulty breathing after being in the water or breathing the air at swimming pools, particularly indoor pools. New research indicates that these symptoms may be an indication of poor water and indoor air quality at the pool caused by a build-up of irritants, known as chloramines, in the water and air. This website from the Centers for Disease Control provides information on this topic. See the ISDH fact sheet Indoor Pools-Trichloramine Problem - [PDF 21 KB] for more information.

Recreational Water Illnesses
This website provides information on recreational water illnesses and what the public, health professionals and pool facilities can do to prevent their transmission. Also available on their web page:

Recreational Water Illnesses: What are they?
Recreational Water Illnesses: How are RWIS spread?
Recreational Water Illnesses: Why doesn't chlorine kill these RWI germs?
Recreational Water Illnesses: Where are RWIs found?
Recreational Water Illnesses: Who is most likely to get ill from an RWI?
Recreational Water Illnesses: How can we prevent RWIs?

Responding to Fecal Accidents
These are the Healthy Swimming recommendations for responding to fecal accidents and body fluids in pools.

Your Disinfection Team
Chlorine and pH are the first defense against germs that can make swimmers sick.
CDC Response Recommendations for Pool Staff
What do you do when you find poop in the pool?
Vomit and Blood Contamination of Pool Water
Vomiting while swimming appears to be a common event - CDC Recommendations for responding to blood and vomit in a pool.
Cleaning Up Body Fluid Spills on Pool Surface
Blood, feces, and vomit are all considered potentially contaminated with bloodborne germs. Therefore, spills of these fluids on the pool deck should be cleaned up and the contaminated surfaces disinfected immediately.

Safety Barrier Guidelines for Home Pools
Explains guidelines for barriers intended to prevent drownings and near-drownings of children in home pools, spas and hot tubs. Guidelines cover fences, gates, audible alarms for doors with access to pools, and power safety covers.

Shocking a Swimming Pool or Spa using Breakpoint Chlorination - or - PDF

Twelve Steps to Prevent Recreational Water Illnesses

Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act

Virginia Graeme B aker Pool and Spa Safety Act - [PDF 42KB]
Effective December 20, 2008, the Act requires:

Each public pool and spa, both new and existing, be equipped with drain covers conforming to the ASME/ANSI A112.19.8 - 2007 Standard.
Each public pool and spa in the United States with a single main drain other than an unblockable drain be equipped, at a minimum, with 1 or more of the following devices or systems designed to prevent entrapment by pool or spa drains:
1. A safety vacuum release system which ceases operation of the pump, reverses the circulation flow, or otherwise provides a vacuum release at a suction outlet when a blockage is detected, that has been tested by an independent third party and found to conform to ASME/ANSI standard A112.19.17 or ASTM standard F2387.
2. A suction-limiting vent system with a tamper-resistant atmospheric opening.
3. A gravity drainage system that utilizes a collector tank.
4. An automatic pump shut-off system.
5. A device or system that disables the drain.
6. Any other system approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ASME/ANSI standard A112.19.17 or ASTM standard F2387.
Safety Drain Covers. Each swimming pool or spa drain cover manufactured, distributed, or entered into commerce in the United States shall conform to the American National Standard ASME/ANSI A112.19.8 - 2007 Suction Fittings for Use in Swimming Pools, Wading Pools, Spas, and Hot Tubs published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Compliance with this Standard will be enforced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission as a consumer product safety rule.

ANSI/APSP-7 field checklist for identifying suction entrapment hazards - [PDF 444 KB]

ANSI/APSP-7 Fact Sheet - [PDF 770 KB]
The ANSI/APSP-7 suction entrapment avoidance standard is a national consensus standard developed through the rigorous process administered by the American National Standards Institute. The ANSI/APSP-7 standard combines best practices to prevent all forms of entrapment based on the best science and offers technically sound solutions that are consistent with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGB Act) and current Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) interpretations. This fact sheet was written by the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP).

APSP Technical Committee Report on Suction Outlet Safety and the Effectiveness of ANSI/APSP-7 - [PDF 942 KB]

CPSC Statement on Enforcement December 15, 2008

CPSC Staff’s GuideTo Complying With The Law - [PDF 48 KB]

CPSC Staff Interpretation - [PDF 78 KB]
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff has prepared this guidance document that spells out the technical requirements of Section 1404 of the Act, along with CPSC staff’s answers to certain enforcement and legal issues.

Frequently Asked Questions About The Federal Pool & Spa Safety Act - [PDF 765 KB]
This document from the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP) is intended to provide important technical information with regard to the recent Pool and Spa Safety Act.

"How ANSI/APSP-7 Prevents Tragedy," by Steve Barnes, Chair, APSP Technical Committee. - [PDF 351 KB]

Manufacturers of ASME/ANSI Approved Drain Covers and ASME/ANSI/ASTM Approved Safety Vacuum Release Systems
CPSC maintains a list of companies that manufacture pool and spa drain covers of various sizes and have represented to CPSC staff that their covers meet the ASME/ANSI A112.19.8-2007 standard, as required by the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, Section 1404(c)(1)(A)(i). The CPSC provides this information as a convenience to pool owners and operators. The CPSC does not provide approval or endorsements for any of these companies or their products. Other companies not listed may also manufacture products that meet the requirements of the law.