Reading pool owners must comply with: (1) Code § 600-1013 prohibiting discharge of pool water onto other properties without owner consent; (2) the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (15 U.S.C. § 8003) anti-entrapment drain-cover requirements; (3) the ISPSC 2018 alarm, suction, and circulation safety provisions adopted statewide under the PA UCC; and (4) NEC Article 680 electrical bonding and GFCI rules. Public pools are additionally licensed and inspected under 28 Pa. Code Ch. 18.
Pool safety in Reading is governed by a stack of overlapping rules. Local: § 600-1013 prohibits draining or backwashing pool water onto adjacent properties without owner consent - chlorinated discharge to the MS4 is also an illicit discharge under Chapter 505 stormwater rules. Federal: the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (15 U.S.C. § 8003) requires every drain cover on a residential or public pool to meet ASME/ANSI A112.19.8 anti-entrapment standards; single main drains must have a secondary anti-entrapment system (vacuum-release device, gravity drain, or dual main drains 36 inches apart). State (via PA UCC adoption of ISPSC 2018): § 305 barrier and gate rules (covered separately); § 310 alarm and surface-skimmer requirements; § 802 - 806 spa/hot-tub equipment, suction-entrapment avoidance, and circulation specifications; main-drain covers must be ASME/ANSI-compliant and replaced when expired. State electrical: NEC Article 680 (adopted by the UCC) requires equipotential bonding of the pool shell and all metal within five feet of the water, GFCI protection on all 15- and 20-amp pool-area receptacles, prohibits overhead service conductors within 22.5 feet of the water, and requires the pump motor to be on a 240 V circuit with GFCI. Public/semi-public pools (apartment-complex pools, HOA pools, hotel pools) are also regulated under 28 Pa. Code Ch. 18, which requires an annual PA Department of Health permit, a Certified Pool Operator, chemistry logs, and signed lifeguard or 'swim at your own risk' postings. Note about state pool-safety statute: Pennsylvania does NOT have a single statewide residential 'pool safety act' (the citation '18 Pa.C.S. § 5104' is actually the resisting-arrest statute and is unrelated to pools). Residential pool safety in PA flows from the UCC adoption of the ISPSC, the federal VGB Act, and local ordinances like Reading's § 600-1013.
VGB Act drain-cover violations are federal CPSC enforcement, with civil penalties under 15 U.S.C. § 2069 (up to $100,000 per violation, $15 million max for related series). UCC / ISPSC violations are enforced by the Reading Building Code Official with up to $1,000-per-day fines. Local § 600-1013 violations same. Civil liability for child drownings and entrapment incidents is independent and frequently in seven figures.
Reading, PA
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Reading, PA
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Reading, PA
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Reading, PA
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Reading, PA
Reading Code Section 141-220 effectively caps a household at six dogs and/or cats combined. Owning more than six requires a permit from the Reading Animal Co...
Reading, PA
Propane (LP-gas) storage in Reading is regulated through the 2018 International Fire Code Chapter 61 (Liquefied Petroleum Gases), adopted by Reading Chapter ...
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