YMCA refitting swimming pools to meet new fed rules

LYNN – The Greater Lynn YMCA is retrofitting its swimming pools and hot tubs in order to comply with new federal safety regulations that go into effect Dec. 19.The law requires public pool owners to install new federally-approved anti-entrapment drains or grate covers, which are designed to protect swimmers and those using hot tubs from suction entrapment. Depending on their existing systems, some pool operators will need to modify pool drainage systems beyond simply attaching new covers by installing automatic shut-off systems.”The YMCA as a national organization has been all over this for months. We’re doing our best to comply. At the Lynn YMCA, we have already made the necessary modifications to the Jacuzzi and we’re waiting on parts for the swimming pool,” Greater Lynn YMCA Executive Director Bruce Macdonald said Tuesday. “We’re very much aware of the deadline. We’ve had every pool company in the state in here look at our pool, which is designed like many others in Massachusetts, with an L-shaped drain. One company said they’d have to empty the pool and dig up the bottom with jackhammers. It could cost $30,000 to retrofit our pools.”L-shaped drains are more difficult to retrofit or design covers for than square or rectangular drains.According to Macdonald, some YMCAs have been able to employ scuba divers to make the necessary modifications, but others will have to drain the water.”The new covers for the drains don’t fit the design. The Lowell YMCA found a solution and we’re following suit. Theirs were just completed,” he said.Macdonald said reengineering the Lynn swimming pool drain will take about two days once the pool is emptied, adding, “The problem is that the parts just aren’t available and probably won’t be until mid-January.”The Greater Lynn YMCA has a swimming pool and hot tub in Lynn, as well as four outdoor pools – three in Saugus and one in Peabody.”All the outdoor pools are covered right now, but we will have to deal with those in the spring,” he said. “We know the Peabody pool can be done with divers. The part is on backorder and the national YMCA has people talking to Congress because this is a federal mandate.”No matter the solution, it will be expensive, Macdonald said.”Supposedly the company that refitted Lowell’s and is now doing Melrose’s pool will let us know this week when they can do the same in Lynn,” he said. “We’re totally on board with it and with all safety precautions. We’re not resisting the regulations, but we need a timeframe that allows us to comply.”The Lynn YMCA pool is used by the organization’s local swim team, while the Peabody pool hosts the Lynnfield and Peabody high school swim teams. All could be affected by the retrofitting schedule.Meanwhile, the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is weighing whether some public pools can remain open beyond the Dec. 19 deadline even if not in compliance.The new law stems from a bill filed by former Secretary of State James Baker, whose 7-year-old granddaughter, Virginia Baker, died in 2002 after becoming trapped by a swimming pool drain.Macdonald said YMCA national officials are seeking clarification from the CPSC, members of Congress and other public agencies involved in enforcing the legislation.State Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach was among those asking the CPSC for guidance. In a Dec. 8 letter to Nancy Nord, CPSC acting chairman, Auerbach wrote, “While we strongly support the intent of this new law, there are issues that appear to be critical obstacles to achieving compliance by the Dec. 19 deadline.”Auerbach further noted that the legislation impacts the use of public swimming pools at colleges, universities and at rehabilitation centers, threatening all with temporary closure. The commissioner said his office has received numerous requests for deadline extensions, some based on the inability to obtain necessary parts, others on economic hardship or extenuating circumstances.