Benton County Environmental Health –
Licensing Pools & Spas

Pools and Spas Licenses

Pool & Spa Drain Cover RECALL

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of pool and spa drain covers.  Click here for recall link.

The drain covers were to be designed / manufactured to meet the Federal law entitled “The Virginia Gramme Baker Pool & Safety Act”.  The recalled drain covers were incorrectly rated to handle the flow of water through the cover, which could pose a possible entrapment hazard to swimmers and bathers.

The recalled drain covers were manufactured by 8 companies and installed between Dec. 2008 - Apr. 2011.

Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Pool owners/operators and consumers who have one of the recalled pool or spa drain covers should immediately contact the manufacturer to receive a replacement or retrofit, depending on their make and model. Except for kiddie pools, wading pools and in-ground spas, retrofit or replacement of installed covers are not required in pools with multiple drain systems or gravity drainage systems or for covers installed before December 19, 2008.

Benton County Environmental Health is passing on this important information in partnership with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Questions about the recall should be directed either to the manufacturer or CPSC.

Again, see link above for complete details on manufactures involved, as well as contact information for any questions.

2012 Pool and Spa License Fees  (PDF)

The Environmental Health Department issues licenses and inspects public pools and spas in Benton County. We provide plan reviews and construction inspections for approval of new or alterations of public pools using Oregon Administrative Rules.

Link to the State of Oregon Pool and Spa website

Link to the State of Oregon Pool Rules

Link to the State of Oregon Spa Rules

Pool Safety: CDC Health Swimming Site

Pool Safety TV & Radio Public Service Announcements: www.youtube.com/poolsafely/.

Pool Operator Training Manual

The Pool Operator Training Manual is designed to help you manage your pool and to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for your customers. The Pool Operator Training Manual will help guide you on how to perform calculations on pool size and volume, how to calculate how much chemicals are needed to adjust your pool chemistry, information on the type of sanitizers that can be used in your pool, how to calculate and do breakpoint chlorination, how to balance your water chemistry, tips for caring for and managing your pool or spa, how to respond to fecal accidents in your pool, a daily record sheet recording you pool chemistry, a pool safety checklist, public swimming pool accident and drowning report, and much more.

English (PDF)

Spanish (PDF)

Important Mandate for Pool Operators: Effective December 20, 2008, the Virginia Baker Graeme Act is enforced. If you have questions, please call our Environmental Health Specialists at: 541-766-6841.

• List of Virginia Baker Graeme Compliant Manufacturers
• Link to Consumer Protection Safety Commission website

Pool & Spa Safety Act (P&SS Act) Training

If you need training on Pool & Spa Safety Act compliance, come to a training session near you, or attend one of the webinars listed below.  For more information on times visit the website: GetPSSACompliant.com. All times are listed in Eastern time zone. 

Understanding Compliance I-IV:

Compliance with the Pool and Spa Safety Act is not trivial. Many inspection programs fall short of complete inspection of suction fitting installation and overall system performance. In this four part series, we will take a close look at the necessary steps of compliance and discuss the steps necessary to verify that a pool is in compliance with the Pool and Spa Safety Act, and its referenced device standards.

Flow and TDH:

The most important factor in determining if a Suction Fitting is properly installed is knowing the maximum system flow. We will cover Flow/TDH and specifically some potential misuses of TDH in State Health and Building Codes.

Suction Fittings:

One of the most significant changes to Suction Fittings occurred with the publication of the 2007 ASME A112 19.8 Standard. This seminar will cover what is new about the standard and review errors in installations that were made in 2009 with suction fitting upgrades that could lead to entrapments. We'll discuss the basic list of inspection points required to verify that the suction fittings are installed properly.

5 Forms of Entrapment, Flow Rate/TDH & Suction Fittings:

In this back-to-back webinar, we will cover the 3 most important topics in understanding suction entrapment dangers and inspecting pools and spas for compliance with the act. You will learn the 5 forms of entrapment and how they are mitigated or eliminated through proper construction & renovation techniques. Building on the underlying causes, we'll assess the prime inspection tool: verifying the system flow rate. With these two foundation sessions, we'll look more closely at the new ASME A112 19.8 Suction Fitting Standard and how this will impact pool and spa inspection.

Where: http://www.getpssacompliant.com/

How do I sign up? You do not have to register or sign up. Just click on the link referenced above at the time of the webinar.

Viewers are invited to email questions in advance or during the seminar to: questions@GetPSSACompliant.com