Standard for Elevated Pools Gets PHTA Okay

Contributed by BSM Staff

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) has announced that the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved ANSI/PHTA/ICC-10 2021 a standard for Elevated Pools, Spas and Other Aquatic Venues Integrated into a Building or Structure.

The purpose of this new standard is to establish minimum guidelines to provide a reasonable level of safety and protection to the structure into which the pool or spa is integrated. Safety and protection of health and public welfare are regulated by the applicable pool and spa codes and standards that control the design, construction, installation, quality of materials, location and maintenance or use of pools and spas.

ANSI publicly announced the approval in ANSI Standards Action on September 3, 2021.

“Over the past several years, the PHTA Commercial Council has worked hard to identify areas of overall pool safety that could use some improvement, were not quite in sync with current practices or customer desires, or in the case of this new standard, simply didn’t exist,” said PHTA Standards Consensus Committee (SCC) Chair Kris Bridges, MCP, CBO, CZA, Building Official/Zoning Administrator, City of Martinsville, VA.

“The ANSI/PHTA/ICC-10 2021 American National Standard for Elevated Pools, Spas and Other Aquatic Venues Integrated into a Building or Structure is a culmination of work by many incredibly dedicated and gifted volunteers whose focus on pool safety is admirable. To see this standard move from concept to discussion to development to now ANSI approval is inspirational.”

Elevated pools and spas are integrated into a structure over an occupiable space, are a subsystem of the structure, and shall be designed to interface with other building subsystems to reduce the risk of damage and undesirable impacts. Among other criteria, the design shall include a water-containment means that is accessible for maintenance.

PHTA-10 is now in the production phase. An announcement will be made once the standard is available for purchase on the PHTA website.

For more information, contact the Standards Department at standards@phta.org or call (703) 838-0083.

The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), a non-profit organization with nearly 3,500 members from around the world, was established in 1956 to support, promote, and protect the common interests of the $36.5B pool, hot tub and spa industry.

For more information, visit www.phta.org.