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California governor signs bill to protect California pools, spas from closure

Casual Living Staff -- Casual Living, 7/9/2010 7:38:00 AM

Sacramento, CA — A bill to protect swimming pools, spas and hot tubs from closure was signed into law July 6 by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"We have worked hard to develop a compromise bill with legislative staff, the Department of Water Resources, the Sierra Club and the Planning and Conservation League," said John Norwood, president of the California Spa &

Pool Industry Education Council, which sponsored the bill. "All our diligence has paid off with this very positive result of our bill being signed by the governor."
AB 2409 revises the California Urban Water Management Planning Act. The amended bill directs the local public agencies of cities and counties to analyze and define "water features," including fountains, ponds, streams, and

waterfalls, where water is artificially supplied, separately from swimming pools, spas and hot tubs. This assures that California cities and counties that enact water conservation plans and drought ordinances will not be

confused by the definition of "water features" in the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance now in effect throughout the state that combines decorative fountains and waterfalls with swimming pools, spas and hot tubs.
SPEC, sponsored AB 2409 in reaction to the Water Conservation and Landscaping Act, enacted in 2006. SPEC members think that legislation and the subsequent Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance developed by the Department of Water Resources set a bad precedent by combining in the definition of "water features," swimming pools, spas and hot tubs with decorative water features such as fountains, ponds, streams and waterfalls.
"Our concern was that unless we corrected these regulations by enacting a new law that demonstrates the Legislature's intent to have swimming pools, spas and hot tubs treated separately from decorative water features could cause confusion among local public utilities when developing their water contingency plans," Norwood said. "If local public utilities used the same definition of ‘water features' found in the Model Water Efficient Landscape

Ordinance, there was the danger that thousands of swimming pools, spas and hot tubs would be inadvertently ordered to shut down as part of a local drought response."
Norwood added, "For many reasons it was too difficult to reopen the regulatory process to correct the definition in the Model Water Landscape Efficient Ordinance."
Instead, SPEC simply directed the agencies in charge of developing local water conservation and drought response plans to treat swimming pools, spas and hot tubs differently than decorative water features. By doing so, SPEC

and its members will avoid the need to monitor the development of water conservation plans all over California, which includes 58 counties, 458 cities, 300 water districts and various sewer agencies.
"In addition, the possibility that swimming pools, spas and hot tubs will be ordered shut down like decorative water features contained in some water conservation ordinances is pretty much precluded," Norwood said.

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