The International Code Council Board in July 2009 approved the development of the first comprehensive swimming pool code coordinated with the current requirements found in the International Codes to meet the requirements of the Virginia Graeme Baker Act to upgrade pool safety. The International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC) is being developed with the support of the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals (APSP) and will encompass the design, installation and inspection of aquatic facilities (i.e., public swimming pools, public spas, permanently installed residential spas, above-ground/on-ground residential swimming pools, residential in-ground swimming pools, portable spas, aquatic recreational facilities, barriers for all residential pools and spas, water quality, and suction entrapment avoidance for these facilities) based on the current ANSI (APSP) standards, technology and code provisions.Initially, the plan was to mirror the process used to draft the International Green Construction Code (IGCC): Four to five drafting meetings with the 15-person Swimming Pool Code Drafting Committee (SPCDC); the production of a draft document for public review; and a cycle of public comments prior to the Code Development and Final Action Hearings. Due to limitations of time, the draft was produced from three drafting meetings and will go directly to the Code Development Process. In order to develop a coherent document in such a limited time frame, Project Manager Mike Pfeiffer, P.E., ICC Deputy Senior Vice President of Technical Services, organized four work groups to feed text to the Committee as a whole. The work groups consisted of General Compliance (Chapter 3), Public Pools (Chapters 4 and 6), Residential Pools (Chapters 7 and 8) and Spas (Chapters 5, 9 and 10). Staff Liaison Fred Grable, P.E., ICC Senior Staff Engineer, assisted Pfeiffer in assembling the document and will serve as Secretariat for the Pool Code Change Committee hearing proposed changes to the draft from May 15-22 in Dallas. Upon conclusion of the Final Action Hearings in Phoenix, the 2012 (and first) edition of the ISPSC will be produced, resulting in the 15th member of the family of International Codes.
Visit the ICC website for detailed schedule information and to download the free Public Version 1.0 of the ISPSC.