ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE
nity association, fitness club, hotel, hospital, nursing home, mobile home, park, school, day care), and publicly available information on swimming pool violations per the Code of Ordinances for Houston. Data obtained from HHD also included pool addresses. In some cases, the addresses that were provided were the establishment’s parent company that was located outside Houston or were post oce boxes rather than the physical location of the swimming pool. The addresses of these swimming pools were traced from their respective HHD swimming pool accounts. In total, seven swimming pools did not have associated addresses or a corresponding active account with HHD; these pools were excluded from our analy- sis. Swimming pool addresses were converted to longitude and latitude coordinates, geo- graphically coded using Texas State Plane Southcentral NAD 83 (a projection system used by most government agencies in the region), and projected onto a map of Houston using ArcGIS Pro version 2.5.0. Application of the MAHC to Swimming Pool Safety Violation Codes The MAHC codifies aquatic safety inspec- tion items and includes an inspection form to grade the safety of swimming pools against RWIs (CDC, 2018a, 2018b). The inspection form consists of 49 inspection items based on safety, chemical, and health hazards. The safety categories on the inspection form per- tain to the pool and spa area, water chemi- cals, equipment and chemical room, hygiene facilities, records room, and general items. Within each category are subitems that are assigned points. Points are deducted from subitems that are not in compliance with code after a pool inspection is performed. Overall, 13 of the MAHC compliance items are deemed critical for passing swimming pool inspections because noncompliance can be potentially life-threatening. Swimming pools are assigned safety grades based on the proportion of subitems that have passed inspection (expressed as a percentage). A swimming pool receives a failing grade if the percentage of subitems that pass inspection is <75% or if there is a critical violation that can be life-threatening (CDC, 2018a). HHD inspects 29 items for safety violations during routine swimming pool inspections. These items are referenced by their correspond-
Comparison of the Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC) and City of Houston Safety Codes and Violation Points TABLE 1 continued from page 9
Safety Code
MAHC Violation Points
City of Houston Violation Points
Equipment and chemical room Automated feeder operable
10
10
Automated controller operable
5 5 5
*
Piping and valves identified and marked
5 5
Flow meter present and operating
Recirculation pump: approved, in good repair, operating
10 10
10 10
Filter: approved, in good repair, operating
Pump strainer: baskets in good condition, not clogged
5 5 5
5 5
Filter gauges operable: filter inlet and outlet, strainer; sight glass
Proper functioning UV system; ozone system Chemicals: labeled, stored safely, secured Appropriate personal protective equipment available
*
10
10
5
*
Hygiene facilities Diaper changing station present; sink, adjacent trash can, sanitizer
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
* * * * *
Used equipment separated from clean equipment
Toilets: clean, in good repair, bathroom appropriately stocked
Rinse showers: in good repair, accessible
Cleansing showers: warm, nonscalding water available; in good repair; soap
Records room Operator training certification available on-site Lifeguard training certification available on-site
5
Inspection report conspicuously posted at each entrance Operator inspection daily items: checklist used daily Operator inspection items: evidence of appropriate steps promptly taken
* * * * * *
Chemical records: filled out daily
Chemical records: evidence of appropriate steps promptly taken
Emergency action plan available on-site
General Substantial unauthorized alterations/equipment replacement Other: imminent health hazards are a 10-point critical violation
10
* *
5 or 10
* Indicates items that the City of Houston does not inspect. Note. Bolded items represent critical code items in the MAHC.
ing code in the Code of Ordinances for Hous- ton. We reviewed the MAHC with HHD sta to determine which of the 49 safety items on the MAHC were in use by Houston during their
swimming pool inspections. HHD confirmed using 29 of 49 MAHC items and 11 of the 13 critical items in the MAHC. Moreover, there are additional subcodes in use by HHD that match
10
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