The US Department of Justice (US DOJ) recently adopted expanded guidelines for public pools as part of the American Disabilities Act (ADA). These new guidelines will take effect on March 15, 2011. Recently, this office has received numerous requests from local health authorities (LHA) and the regulated community for guidance from the New Jersey Department of Health & Senior Services. This guidance document is provided to assist the above regarding the new ADA requirements.
Beginning in March 2011, these requirements will apply to newly constructed and altered swimming pools. Because these requirements are all related to pool construction, enforcement is under the jurisdiction of the Uniform Construction Code (UCC), which is enforced by local construction code enforcement officials and the Department of Community Affairs (DCA). The LHA’s responsibility is to inform the local construction code official if any licensed/new/altered pools in their jurisdiction have not complied. The following is a quick reference guide of the new requirements.