Washington County, OR Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

The health department "shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of" Chapter 14.08's swimming pool rules, and the health officer or an authorized representative "shall have access to swimming pools at any reasonable time for purposes of inspection and enforcement" (§ 14.08.050). That authority has teeth: § 14.08.250 lets the health officer collect pool water samples for bacteriological analysis, and "when the bacteriological results are such that the health officer finds that the health of swimmers may be in danger," the pool can be ordered closed or its use prohibited until the problem is corrected.

The Appendix A rules and regulations adopted under § 14.08.060 set the numbers behind that authority: free residual chlorine must stay between 0.4 and 0.6 parts per million (or 0.7–1.5 ppm where chlorinated cyanurates are used), pH must hold between 7.2 and 7.6, and both are tested daily with results kept on permanent record. Personal rules bar anyone with a fever, cough, inflamed eyes, discharge, or a communicable disease, or with skin sores, from using the pool at all. Operators must keep written operating and sanitation records, daily water added, chemicals used, test results, available to the health department at all times except for private residential pools (§ 14.08.220), and § 14.08.230 makes clear that if clarity or chlorine levels fall out of range, "the swimming pool shall be closed until such time as these requirements are satisfied." A violation can also be abated as a nuisance under Chapter 8.20 (§ 14.08.260), and closure notices may be appealed to the board of commissioners within seven days (§ 14.08.240).