Pool Requirements
Before scheduling an inspection, please check to make sure the following minimum criteria are met to help streamline the permitting process:
Any immediate threat to public health or safety not listed above could result in permit denial. Please contact the Carteret County Health Department, Division of Environmental Health at 252-728-8499 if you have any questions regarding your pool.
Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act
The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGB) was enacted by Congress and signed by President Bush on December 19, 2007. Designed to prevent the tragic and hidden hazard of drain entrapments and eviscerations in pools and spas, the law became effective on December 19, 2008.
Under the law, all public pools and spas must have ASME / ANSI A112.19.8-2007 compliant drain covers installed and a second anti-entrapment system installed, when there is a single main drain other than an unblockable drain.
Helpful Resources
For more information about the VGB Act you can go to:
- Water clear enough to see the main drain
- Chlorine at least 1.0 ppm (or bromine at least 2.0 ppm or biguanide between 30 and 50 ppm). Chlorine in wading pools must be at least 2.0 ppm
- pH between 7.2 and 7.8
- Heated pool water less than 90°F or heated spa water less than 104°F
- Body hook (non-adjusting, at least 12-feet long) and ring buoy with 1.5 times pool width (or 50 feet, whichever is less)
- Emergency telephone capable of directly dialing 911 provided within 75 feet of pool entrance. If phone is not visible from pool, a sign with directions to the phone must be posted
- Address of pool and dialing instructions must be posted at the phone (ex. "Dial 911" or "Dial 9" to get outside line and then dial "911")
- Depth markings on pool walls and decks with units indicated in “FEET” or “FT” must be visible
- “No Diving” markers on pool deck in areas less than 5-feet deep must still be visible. Letters must be at least 4-inches high and of a contrasting color with pool deck
- Signs stating “CHILDREN SHOULD NOT USE THE POOL WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION” and “ADULTS SHOULD NOT SWIM ALONE”. The lettering for these signs must be at least 1-inch high. A “WARNING – NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY” sign with 4-inch lettering is required if the pool operates any portion of the operating hours without a lifeguard
- All submerged suction outlets other than vacuum ports shall be protected by anti-entrapment cover/grates in compliance with ASME / ANSI A112.19.B-2007 Suction Fittings for Use in Swimming Pools, Wading Pools, Spas, and Hot Tubs.
- Pumping systems that have a single main drain or single submerged suction outlet other than an unblockable drain or which have multiple outlets separated by less than three feet measured at the centers of the cover grates shall have one or more secondary methods of preventing bather entrapment.
Any immediate threat to public health or safety not listed above could result in permit denial. Please contact the Carteret County Health Department, Division of Environmental Health at 252-728-8499 if you have any questions regarding your pool.
Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act
The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGB) was enacted by Congress and signed by President Bush on December 19, 2007. Designed to prevent the tragic and hidden hazard of drain entrapments and eviscerations in pools and spas, the law became effective on December 19, 2008.
Under the law, all public pools and spas must have ASME / ANSI A112.19.8-2007 compliant drain covers installed and a second anti-entrapment system installed, when there is a single main drain other than an unblockable drain.
Helpful Resources
For more information about the VGB Act you can go to: