Pool operators try to comply with safety law

A recent Florence Morning News editorial republished Jan. 8 in The Sun News as "Don't wait for laws to save lives" appropriately describes the importance of a new national law that requires commercial swimming pools and spas to be outfitted with new drain cover systems. These new regulations, passed within the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, took effect Dec. 19. Ultimately, the regulations will enhance pool safety and may save lives (nine deaths between 1997 and 2007 are attributed to suction entrapment in commercial pools and spas).

The problem, simply enough, is a lack of available parts. With hundreds of thousands of pools to be retrofitted nationwide, a small number of manufacturers have been overwhelmed by unprecedented demand. Millions of essential parts are needed to upgrade commercial pools, and they have been unavailable. Many pool owners and operators have waited for months, and some are still waiting today.

The problem with this law is not in the intent but, rather, in the impossible deadline. Many lawmakers recognized these new guidelines could not be fully implemented in such a short time. For this reason, the U.S. House of Representatives passed this bill without a specific a deadline. Likewise, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has readily acknowledged the 2008 deadline is not achievable, as was previously reported in The Sun News on Dec. 13 ("Pool safety parts delay compliance"). In this article, a Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesperson noted the commission "fully recognizes that there are pool and spa owners and operators in South Carolina that are trying to make a good-faith effort to comply with the law, but there are not appropriately sized covers available at this time."

The Morning News' editorial incorrectly suggests this problem is the result of widespread procrastination on the part of private industry. This simply is not true. This viewpoint overlooks the thousands of pool owners in South Carolina who applied in early 2008, many of whom are still waiting for their parts to arrive. Likewise, it ignores the plight of pool service professionals who are faced with the challenge of upgrading thousands of pools in a span of a few weeks.

No one questions the importance of these new guidelines. Nor are businesses complaining about the cost of the new regulations. If the Virginia Graeme Baker Act saves only one life, it will have been worth the effort. The editorial wrongly assumes that procrastination is the cause of the problem. Worse yet, blaming the very businesses that support the new guidelines and bear the cost of improved safety serves no useful purpose. Rather, the editorial's criticism should be directed at those who demanded the 2008 deadline without confirming the availability of parts.

While the editorial mistakenly criticizes private industry for the implementation problems, its suggestion that businesses should embrace the new laws is well-received. In fact, most businesses already have. As a result of this new law, pools in our community will be safer, and lives may be spared. From the perspective of pool owners and operators, this cannot happen soon enough.