August 2017
Condominium corporations have an obligation to take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of all residents and visitors to their complex. This obligation extends to common areas such as the swimming pool. Obligations include compliance with all regulations.
Condominium swimming pools in Ontario are regulated as public pools under the Health Protection and Promotion Act. The exceptions are condominium corporations with fewer than five units or a pool depth of less than 0.75 metres.
Regulation requirements in this Act include:
- The owner/operator of the pool, which is the corporation, must ensure that the number of permitted bathers on deck and in the pool does not exceed the maximum allowed.
- Lifeguards are not required in condominium pools with a water surface area of 93 square metres or less although a caution sign must be posted informing that the pool is unsupervised.
- There must be an accessible telephone for emergency use within 30 metres of the pool. The telephone must be tested every day before opening the pool to bathers.
- Written emergency and operational procedures must be posted.
- When the pool is not open for use, it should be inaccessible.
- The water must be kept free from contaminants that may be injurious to the health of bathers. The water must be tested prior to the opening of the pool to bathers and at regular specified intervals with test results recorded and maintained for a year.
- The filtering system must be maintained in proper working order and must be in continuous operation except for when a closure of more than 7 days is anticipated.
- A black disc on a white background must be affixed to the bottom of the pool, at its deepest point. The clarity of the water and the illumination of the pool area must be such that this disk is visible from any point on the deck, nine metres away from the disc.
Many condominium corporations choose to employ an external service to maintain the swimming pool area and ensure compliance with regulations.
