With many apartment communities opening their pools over the holiday weekend, NMHC reminds members of their obligations under the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGBA).  Specifically, the 2008 law requires all pools with single main drains to install a secondary anti-entrapment system, unless the main drain is “unblockable.” 

Last September, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) revoked its prior “interpretive rule” defining unblockable pool drains.  As a result, pool owners who placed a removable unblockable drain cover over a smaller blockable drain may now be deemed non-compliant.  At the urging of NMHC/NAA and other industry groups, the deadline to come into compliance with the new CPSC interpretation has been extended until May 23, 2013.

On another note, the CPSC has rejected an NMHC/NAA-supported petition from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals and other industry groups encouraging the CPSC to effectively revisit their decision on “unblockable drain covers” and designate covers of a sufficient size as a compliant product.  The CPSC did, however, agree to hear the petition of a manufacturer that offers an alternative pool drain system designed to prevent entrapment listed in the VGBA.