Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Safety Act

And Safety Vacuum Release Systems

If the jobsite is inside or just outside the "box" formed by the 118,405,101, and 23 freeways I can come look at your pool for a free estimate 818-345-POOL(7665) more details on the bottom of this page (and please read note below)

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool And Safety act is a mandatory federal requirement for suction entrapment avoidance and also will make available 2 million in grants to states that meet safety guidelines to train enforcement personnel and to educate about the dangers of entrapment and drowning and the standards of the safety act.

Public pools will need approved drains and/or pumping systems that comply with anti-entrapment standards...the fines can be exceptionally high- up to 1.825 million PER body of water for not complying with new drain law.

However,even if you have a residential pool,you may want to consider one or more of these devices on your pool for your children or grandchildren - many of these devices have additional benefits besides safety such as preventing the pump from running dry and saving money on repairs.

But to install this main drain,the bottom of pool structure needs to be cut out more than four inches in depth,and rebar may have to be removed,possibly making the pool shell weaker.

UPDATE: I believe this drain in fine for a pool,especially when connected to a skimmer and the flow of water is through a filter and other equipment such as a heater or solar. However,on a spa where the drain is directly connected to a high flow jet pump,entrapment MAY still be possible as shown in the link below:

Man gets trapped in channel drain


Below is link to channel drain website:

Aquastar Channel Drains

The beauty of this device is simplicity - no electrical hook up,no plumbing or changing of the pump,and cost savings - this device,in combination with approved drain covers can save a building owner thousands in labor,equipment,refilling pool and chemical costs.

However,this device mounts low to the ground,where the air inlet MAY possibly get trapped with dirt and debris if equipment is outdoors,so using the supplied elbow pointed up may help.

The Vac-Alert (shown at the top of this page) works on basically the same principle as the Vac-Less system shown below but is a more robust system and higher up from the ground. However,this system is a little more expensive and must be manually reset,so lets say a bunch of leaves get into pool and block the flow of water this device will activate until the service tech arrives to reset the unit. I have links to both below photos.

Vac Alert

Vacless system

This device made by Stingl shuts off pump in case of entrapment

This link takes you to the makers of the Stingl device

The device above will replace existing timer and also has additional features such as fireman switch for heater (discussed in timers section link below),power back up,auxiliary input for pump control,and will prevent pump from running dry! (however,I have heard from service techs that this device has a high false alarm rate and must be reset and is generally a hassle to work with,which may be caused by improper installation in the first place)

return from virginia graeme baker safety act to pool pump timers

This is a SVRS compliant pump

information on multi speed pumps

Below are two main drain covers compliant with the Virginia Graeme Baker Safety Act:

The link below is for a site with information aquatic safety training:

Aquatic Safety

Updates for Ventura and Los Angeles Counties

UPDATE December 21,2008: Ventura County is offering a few different ways to compliance:

1)Split main drains at least 3 feet apart with approved covers and sumps

2)A single unblock-able main drain with approved cover/sump

3)A single main drain with approved cover/sump AND a device or system to prevent entrapment such as the devices above

UPDATE: as of 11/20/08 the Los Angeles Department of Health,Swimming Pool Division has said that public pool main drains must be split or unblock-able such as a channel drain. If the drain is split into two separate drains both must have approved covers as well as a compliant sump.

UPDATE 1/28/09: Los Angeles County is allowing Paramount drain covers on equalizer lines/and twin main drains WITHOUT additional sump work!

UPDATE 2/23/09: As of 2/09/09 Los Angeles County is allowing one of the pump shut off or vacuum release devices with a single main drain (AND approved main drain cover)for pools without equalizer lines and NO additional sump work.

Also-a proper skimmer is defined as having either: an equalizer line or; connected to a proper main drain which is two drains....or one unblock-able...or a main drain with proper cover AND a SVRS device on pump.

UPDATE 9/15/09: both Ventura and Los Angeles Counties are allowing drain covers to be put on underwater saving building owners on refilling pools and chemicals and down time as long as no sump work is needed and done by qualified technician (meaning proper license).....Also,some counties require ALL other pool items (such as handrails,tile lines,depth markers,etc.) to be brought up to code once pool is drained,which is another good reason to consider doing it underwater!

Below is a diagram showing a proper sump (if for some reason a compliant cover that does require a sump cannot be installed):

Equalizer Lines and Updates

UPDATE 12/4/09: I explained to the Los Angeles Health Department that I was getting lots of different answers from inspectors regarding equalizer lines and wanted to know if an equalizer line on a skimmer attached to main drain could be capped off and sealed.The man on phone spoke to the head man in charge who told me equalizer lines CANNOT be capped off and MUST be covered with approved covers (the same cover as a main drain cover).

The same day I told a customer the news that her equalizer line had to be covered and she said she just talked to the inspector and was told it did NOT need to be covered and could be left as is.

BUT - on 1/6/10 I received a paper from the health dept stating "A skimmer connected to a main drain should not have an equalizer line...If main drain line is both functional and connected to skimmer indicate so,and that the redundant equalizer line will be capped and patched over."

Three different people,three different answers.

I have decided to cover ALL equalizer ports with approved covers for my sake and my customers' sake liability wise,and to appease whatever inspector I have to deal with,since there is a small chance someone could possibly get stuck on the equalizer under some circumstances,and they also serve the purpose of preventing the pump from running completely dry if water level drops below skimmer.

Free Estmates

The price for bringing the average pool into compliance with the new law is usually less than $1,700.00 including parts,labor,and the plans/permits which the health dept. requires. Some companies may drain the pool and do it for less,but then you have the water bill and chemical re-balance costs to think about.

A few apartment and condominium management companies have asked me if I can give a free estimate on multiple buildings with pools for a discount package deal. There are a few problems with this:

1)If we are talking 2-3 buildings within walking distance then the answer is yes. But 10 buildings miles apart would take me several days to estimate since each pool is unique. I would need a deposit before doing that much work.

2)My costs are fixed..the plans and permits,and materials such as SVRS devices are the same for each pool if I do one pool or ten pools. I have tried to get discount pricing on multiple SVRS devices,but so far the manufacturers only sell to wholesale distributors who agree to sell at a fixed price (which may in fact be illegal but I will continue to try)

3)The inspectors in different areas may have differing opinions on what they want done...even if they do not inspect job site,different inspectors may go over plans and paper work. For example,on a pool with a pump not on the approved list some inspectors may let it slide,others may require a pump change.

4)Some buildings may be out of my general area described at the top of page..I will still do estimate,but for a small fee,which will be applied towards the job if I get it.

The link below is a GREAT place to build a website for an inexperienced person!