Friday, October 13, 2000
Friday, October 13, 2000 |
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Health Department needs help from PTC to continue inspections of public pools By JOHN
MUNFORD The Fayette County Health Department wants to continue responding to health complaints at all public pools. But Peachtree City and other municipalities in the county must adopt an ordinance that would allow the health department to continue that practice. If that doesn't happen, Fayette County will have to abide by a state law that would exempt pools in subdivisions, apartment complexes and country clubs from the monitoring rules. At last week's City Council meeting, environmental health specialist Robert Kurbes said without the ordinance, the Health Department wouldn't have any enforcement power over pools that violate the regulations. Instead, the Health Department would inspect pools upon request, but it would not be able to enforce regulations, Kurbes said. Pools in subdivisions, apartment complexes and country clubs have accounted for a majority of the complaints and concerns received by the department over the past few years, he added. "With recent outbreaks and rashes of illnesses and injuries traced back to public swimming areas, we feel this is a public health concern and we need to do something," Kurbes said. The new regulations need to be passed before Dec. 31, when the state's new pool monitoring law goes into effect, Kurbes said. The new state law only requires the monitoring of pools operated by hotels, cities and health clubs, Kurbes said. "It [the state law] will not do anything to protect the long-term population of Fayette County, Peachtree City, Tyrone and our other municipalities." The monitoring required by the state law would include overseeing the design of new pools and the operation and maintenance of existing pools. If the new monitoring rules are approved, approximately 75-80 facilities will fall under this code in the entire county. The new monitoring rules were recently adopted by the Fayette County Board of Health, but each city in the county should also approve the rules in the form of an ordinance, Kurbes said. The monitoring process would help protect the public from illnesses and injuries in the pools, Kurbes said. He added that he would be glad to meet with council if there are any questions regarding the regulations. We feel this is a more concise, a cleaner and more public-conscious proposal for the institution of a swimming pool inspection program," Kurbes said. After the regulations are approved by the Board of Health and the County Commission, Kurbes said the city would be asked to make the document a part of its ordinance. "We don't want this to come as a surprise to you as we get close to the Dec. 31 deadline," he said.
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