VGB compliance

Definition

The federal anti-entrapment rule for the drains of any pool open to members, residents or hotel guests.

Why It Matters

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act is written for the swimmer, and its idea of a public pool is wider than the word. It counts any pool open to the public, and any pool open only to members of an organization and their guests, residents of an apartment complex or residential development, or the patrons of a hotel. Each must be equipped with anti-entrapment devices or systems meeting the federal standard. One with a single main drain that is not unblockable also needs a backup: a safety vacuum release, a suction-limiting vent, gravity drainage, an automatic pump shut-off, a disabled drain, or another system the Commission finds as effective. A violation counts as a violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act. The cover standard also reaches every cover manufactured, distributed or entered into commerce, so a route that supplies one is selling a regulated product. Ask which accounts count as public, which run a single main drain and what backs it up, and who supplied the covers now on them.