Aquatic facilities: managing risk in the physical environment.

Public aquatic facilities deliver value to users and the community--if they are planned well, designed well, and meet the public's expectation of total health and safety. So while facilities offer a destination for entertainment and recreation, managers cannot have a relaxed attitude about the design, operation, and maintenance of those facilities. In short, users assume pool management is doing everything necessary "behind the scenes" to provide a safe environment.

Public pools are becoming increasingly popular recreational venues, with a growing emphasis on fun, family, and features. As municipal facilities implement programs to encourage greater attendance and longer stays, the associated increase in patron usage puts additional stress and strain on both the physical facilities and staff. Risks of all kinds increase any time a facility designed to comply with minimum criteria experiences maximum "loads." Effective management of the risks associated with an aquatic facility begins at the conceptual stage and continues through construction and operation.

This article focuses on the physical facility and risk management, as presented by a multidisciplinary panel in Kansas City, Missouri. Panel members provided pool operators with the public-health, legal, insurance, and engineering design perspectives that were related to risk management.

Effective risk management can have considerable impact in terms of public health, safety, and economics. "Since 1971, the recovery rate for plaintiffs in swimming accidents has risen from 45 to 67 percent," said Trip Shawver, a Wichita, Kansas, attorney who specializes in defending facility owners against liability claims. "This is 18 percent above the national norm for recovery for all liability situations."

And, according to Greg Langan, public-sector loss-control services director of the St. Paul (MN) Fire and Marine Insurance Company, the most common plaintiff-attorney allegations include lack of depth markings, failure to construct according to plan, inadequate diving clearance, lack of lifeguards, inadequate lighting, improper supervision, negligent design or maintenance, and negligent rescue.

Pool managers who have "inherited" existing facilities can make significant contributions to public health and safety via improved operations (as this article will convey); it also is important to understand that risk management starts at the conceptual stage of a new facility or a facility renovation.

Risk Management at the Conceptual Stage

The responsibility for health, safety, and risk management begins at the conceptual stage of a new or renovated facility.

It helps to use common terminology to discuss risk management:

* Hazard relates to the unsafe condition or situation itself (shallow water in a diving pool, inadequate levels of chlorine, improper pH levels, or poor visibility).

* Risk describes the probability that a hazard will create a problem or lead to an injury or illness.

* Control describes efforts to reduce the risk.

"You need to balance risks with controls," Langan says. "Eliminate the hazards that you can, and control the others."

* Stay involved. "If you're going to build a pool, build it right," Shawver advises. "Bear in mind that it may cost more to do it right -- especially if `right' means `wider and deeper' in the case of slides and diving boards. Have an insurance expert or a lawyer on your team to provide the risk/benefit analysis to persuade the city or county council that it is more cost-effective to do it right the first time." And don't rely on the contractor to select materials and equipment.

* Follow the trend toward "aquatic complexes." A well-designed "aquatic complex" often allows you to reduce risks, according to Langan. While play features (slides, fountains, diving boards) enhance the "marketability," fun, and traffic, they carry inherent risks for injury.

Such planning can pay off. Langan notes statistics that show a 26 percent annual decrease in drownings since 1984 and an 11 percent annual drop in pool-injury frequency since 1993.

Don't Design and Operate to Minimum Guidelines

People expect their public facilities to be safe, so it's imperative to design for a wide range of conditions.

* A "user orientation." Cultivating a user orientation means putting yourself in your user's place -- literally. Shawver encourages pool managers to "get down on your knees" and assess hazards from a child's perspective. `We see kids on diving boards who are not as tall as the first railing," he says. Children often invent new ways to use equipment and new games that pose hazards. Think about how users will actually use equipment.

"Further, there are people at the pool who can't read, but we still use these signs to control accessibility and address other liability issues," Shawver noted.

* Multiple sources of guidelines. "Do not go by the `least' requirement," said Shawver. Facility directors and designers should consult a variety of sources, including local code requirements and published guidelines. "What's disappointing is that there aren't very many laws regarding pools," said Shawver. "There's no one place where you can get design guidelines."

The Iowa Department of Public Health draws on multiple resources to develop its statewide rules and guidelines, according to Michael Magnant, an environmental engineer. These resources include the Red Cross, competitive diving organizations, and operator training and certification from a recognized organization.

* Play and diving equipment. Langan points to three areas to control the risk associated with three-meter boards: proper depth and slopes in the diving basin, adequate separation from other boards, and replacing boards with water flumes.

Many facilities include starting platforms for competitive swim teams. "If you're going to have starting platforms. control them with adequate water depth underneath, proper positioning relative to each other and the pool wall, and proper anchoring for platform stability," Langan said.

* Chemical feed guidelines. Pool-filtration and recirculation systems should be maintained 24 hours a day, not simply during "open hours." Based on pool size and the equipment's mechanical and hydraulic capabilities, establish daily procedures that account for variations in usage. Chemicals should be added continuously throughout the day so you don't have to close the pool and manually add chemicals to the pool basin. User demands (usage) should dictate chemical treatment and filtration procedures -- not minimum guidelines established at the factory.

* Lighting Lighting impacts safety several ways. There must be adequate visibility for patrons and lifeguards to move around and observe activities. Glare must be minimized so a lifeguard can see a swimmer on the bottom of the pool. In addition, lighting provides security during off-hours year-round.

* Deck edges. Be alert to slipping hazards where swimmers get in and out of the pool. Some gutter materials, such as ceramic tile or stainless steel, are attractive and easy to clean, but they also can present slipping hazards if they are not properly designed. You should consider renewing any painted surfaces annually with non-skid coatings.

* Depth markings. State and local codes may dictate how far apart to paint or otherwise mark water depth. Consider posting depths more frequently -- it could mean low-cost insurance in the event of a claim.

Paradigm Shift: Think "Water-Treatment Facilities"

It's as clear as the water in a well-maintained pool: there is no single set of numbers you can use to manage your pool's physical plant. Different pools with the same volume of water have different requirements, based on mechanical equipment, usage, and geography, to name only a few of the many variables.

Think of your pool as a water-treatment facility, not simply a big basin of water.

Magnant urges pool managers to take a hands-on approach. "Take your own tests," he says. "Don't rely entirely on automated systems or lifeguards. Review the pool records for patterns of usage and the levels of disinfectant, pH, alkalinity, and hardness. If certain readings aren't correct, you may be reducing the disinfectant capability of chemicals."

Illness & disease. Magnant observes, "In terms of public health, municipal pools are generally well-managed. We don't have any concerns about HIV or hepatitis being transmitted via pool water."

"Obviously, two things are critical: disinfection and filtration systems," says Magnant. "One of the difficulties is that it's hard to detect an organism once it's in the pool. You've got to have management systems and procedures in place to prevent [problems]."

According to Magnant, the three primary microbial concerns in public pools and spas -- pseudomonas, giardia and cryptosporidium -- pose special challenges. Managing another microorganism, legionella, is easier, he says, but popular spray features in pools increase the hazard because legionella spreads by way of droplets of water that are inhaled directly into the lungs.

Mechanical systems. The water recirculation system is the heart and soul of a swimming pool's physical plant. A properly sized, effectively designed, and properly installed filtration system is critical to maintaining a safe, healthy environment and minimizing spread of disease. The combination of filter size (square footage of filter surface), pump capacity, piping, pressure gauges, flow meters, and other equipment and instruments must provide an integrated system.

In theory, the more water you run through the filters, the smaller the surface area of filters you'll require. In practice, you may overload the filter's capacity, thus reducing the filter's ability to do its job.

Cost-benefit considerations. From an insurer's perspective, Langan acknowledges that "an old physical plant usually presents more risks than some of the newer aquatics centers. It is up to the aquatics director to determine the most effective course of action to address how to control the risks posed by the facility."

Do you need the biggest and newest equipment? Not necessarily. Think about your car: you may not have the biggest car or the newest model, but you change the oil regularly and prepare the car for the season's driving conditions. The same goes for the physical plant of an aquatic facility: avoid blind reliance on "automatic" equipment to run the pool and institute practices that safeguard your patrons.

Take a Stand -- and Action for Public Safety

Carefree pool environments demand stringent attention to safety and risk reduction. Said Shawver, "Here's the concept: everybody has a legal `duty' [to provide a safe facility], and if you break that duty, or don't do it correctly, then you're negligent." Yes, there will be emotional, political, and public-opinion pressures, he says, but stand firm.

Magnant puts it another -- equally direct -- way, "How willing are you to dose the pool in the middle of summer? Too often we hear that it [a closing] is not being done."

Pool directors are in a prime position both to impact safety and to manage risk, all to the benefit of the municipality and the people who use its pools. They can set the tone and foster a proactive attitude among staff, users, civic leaders, and pool designers. Find out all you can about your facility's design, construction, mechanical equipment, operation, and usage patterns. From concept and design through construction, operations, and maintenance, pool directors must be persuasive advocates for the public's safety and health.

RELATED ARTICLE: Resources for Design Guidelines

The following publications and organizations provide several sources of design guidelines:

* American Red Cross. Lifeguarding Today. Mosby Lifeline.

* American Red Cross. Lifesaving: Rescue and Water Safety.

* American Red Cross. Swimming & Diving. Mosby Lifeline.

* FINA Handbook FINA.

* Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. Recommended Practice for Sports and Recreational Lighting.

* National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Rules. NCAA.

* United States Swimming Rules and Regulations. United States Swimming, Inc.

* Emergency Response Guidebook (for Initial Response to Hazardous Materials Incidents). DOT.

* United States Diving Rules and Regulations. USD, Inc.

* National Federation of State High School Associations. Swimming, Diving and Water Polo.

* National Recreation and Park Association.

* Council for National Cooperation in Aquatics.

* U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

* U.S. Lifesaving Association.

* National Swimming Pool Foundation.

* American National Standards Institute.

* American Public Health Association.