(a) As used in this section the following words have the following meanings:

(1) (A) “Public wading pool” means a pool that meets all of the following criteria:

(i) It has a maximum water depth not exceeding 18 inches.

(ii) It is a pool other than a pool that is located on the premises of a one-unit or two-unit residence, intended solely for the use of the residents or guests.

(B) “Public wading pool” includes, but is not limited to, a pool owned or operated by private persons or agencies, or by state or local governmental agencies.

(C) “Public wading pool” includes, but is not limited to, a pool located in an apartment house, hotel, or similar setting, that is intended for the use of residents or guests.

(2) “Alteration” means any of the following:

(A) To change, modify, or rearrange the structural parts or the design.

(B) To enlarge.

(C) To move the location of.

(D) To install a new water circulation system.

(E) To make any repairs costing fifty dollars ($50) or more to an existing circulation system.

(3) “ANSI/APSP performance standard” means a standard that is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and published by the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals (APSP).

(4) “Suction outlet” means a fitting or fixture typically located at the bottom or on the sides of a swimming pool that conducts water to a recirculating pump.

(b) A public wading pool shall have at least two circulation suction outlets per pump that are hydraulically balanced and symmetrically plumbed through one or more “T” fittings, and are separated by a distance of at least three feet in any dimension between the suction outlets.

(c) All public wading pool suction outlets shall be covered with antivortex grates or similar protective devices. All suction outlets shall be covered with grates or antivortex plates that cannot be removed except with the use of tools. Slots or openings in the grates or similar protective devices shall be of a shape, area, and arrangement that would prevent physical entrapment and would not pose any suction hazard to bathers.

(d) (1)  The State Department of Health Services may adopt regulations pursuant to this section.

(2) The regulations may include, but not be limited to, standards permitting the use of alternative devices or safeguards, or incorporating new technologies, that produce, at a minimum, equivalent protection against entrapment and suction hazard, whenever these devices, safeguards, or technologies become available to the public.

(3) Regulations adopted pursuant to this section constitute building standards and shall be forwarded pursuant to § 11343 of the Government Code to the California Building Standards Commission for approval as set forth in § 18907 of the Health and Safety Code.

(e) The California Building Standards Commission shall approve the building standards as set forth in this section and publish them in the California Building Standards Code by November 1, 1999. The commission shall publish the text of this section in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, Part 2, Chapter 31B, requirements for public swimming pools, with the following note: “NOTE: These building standards are in statute but have not been adopted through the regulatory process.” Enforcement of the standards set forth in this section does not depend upon adoption of regulations, therefore, enforcement agencies shall enforce the standards pursuant to the timeline set forth in this section prior to adoption of related regulations.

(f) The maximum velocity in the pump suction hydraulic system shall not exceed six feet per second when 100 percent of the pump’s flow comes from the circulation system and any suction outlet in the system is completely blocked.

(g) On and after January 1, 1998, all newly constructed public wading pools shall be constructed in compliance with this section.

(h) Commencing January 1, 1998, whenever a construction permit is issued for alteration of an existing public wading pool, it shall be retrofitted so as to be in compliance with this section.

(i) By January 1, 2000, every public wading pool, regardless of the date of original construction, shall be retrofitted to comply with this section.

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 679, Sec. 4.5. (AB 2114) Effective January 1, 2013.)