Today’s aquatic designers are tasked with designing beautiful and inviting aquatic environments while adhering to the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility requirements.
Designers, builders, and installers need to be aware of specific ACA and ADA regulations for pools and spas, while also paying close attention to intended clientele and market demographics of the population using pool and spa lifts, specifically weight capacities of the lifts.
The type, placement, and number of lifts may change based on whether they will be used at larger competition or recreational pools like those at universities, versus smaller pools like those found at senior centres, hotels, condominiums, apartment complexes, or smaller athletic clubs. Knowing the legal accessibility requirements and taking the time to understand the intended clientele of the pool or spa will help determine the best lift placement, type, and number of lifts (or alternate/additional methods of access) to ensure aquatic facilities remain compliant.
It is important to remember the ADA is a civil rights law that was passed in 1990; the laws were updated in 2011. ADA requires both new and existing facilities to be compliant, regardless of when they were originally constructed. Like the ADA, the ACA not only applies to the construction of new spaces and buildings, but it also governs organizations that offer goods and services, employ Canadian workers, provide accommodation, use a building, and/or operate a business.
In terms of pools and spas, the legislation states an ADA-compliant lift is considered a primary access choice. This article will focus on several areas to consider when evaluating how to make pools and spas more accessible with an access lift. There are several best practices to consider for installation and maintenance to ensure long-term success.
Compliance and best practices
ADA regulations are specific in their indications for compliant pools and spas. Bruce Giffin, a manufacturer of ADA-compliant pool and spa lifts in Montana, says he recommends contacting a consultant to come in and evaluate the facility for accessibility improvements, and to develop a short- and long-term plan.
Giffin explains the ADA indicates pools under 91.4 m (300 ft) require only one form of access which can be a lift or a sloped entry (zero entry or ramp) while pools larger than 91.4 m require two forms of access. Lifts and sloped entries are the only two primary means of access, according to the act.
“The United States Access Board issued a clarification to the law on the use of portable lifts in January of 2012 indicating a portable lift is only allowed if installation of a ‘fixed’ lift would be an undue burden to the facility. It goes on further to indicate a portable lift could not be used to service multiple bodies of water as each body of water needs to be readily accessible at all times the pool is open,” says Giffin. “The Access Board also clarified that even a portable lift needed to be ‘affixed’ to the pool deck which led manufacturers to create a ‘fixing’ anchor to secure the portable lift to the deck so as to not allow someone to easily move it.”
