Bored?

Apparently, I was.

I found this on the Best Of Craigs List:

three pink plastic lawn flamingos, the momma, the daddy and two
babies. in good shape except the momma has a bullet hole. will
trade for a good dog or weed eater, will also consider any kind
of alcohol as long as it ain't been opened up.

Here's a link, if you are interested

Know Your Radon Levels?

This site provides info on state-wide radon testing, broken down by zip code.

Everyone should check their own homes for radon, (which is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States), but if your community is located in one of the high level areas, you might want to provide a bit of extra encouragement to your residents.

Pool Safety, Continued...

And this time, it's about something bigger than a microscopic protozoan.

In December of 2007, President Bush signed the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. The act requires that public pools and spas(which will include community association pools and spas) must have some type of anti-entrapment device on the drain designed to eliminate the risk of death or injury.

Apparently, drownings associated with pool and spa drains are disurbingly common, and rather easily preventable. A number of devices can be installed to provide safety and compliance with the act.

Compliance with the act is not mandated until December, but why wait? If you haven't had this done, get it done immediately.

Diapers Required; Bikinis Prohibited?

Ya just gotta love living in this state...

Salt Lake County now requires diapers for those under three, and Kanab City (down South, for those of you who may not know your Utah geography) is prohibiting bikinis on all (men and women of all ages, apparently).

It appears, according to the KSL News story on the subject, that the city leaders may backpedal on that one; apparently the Kanab city leaders were so concerned with the health issues that they overlooked the dress codes that they were passing.

And we wonder why we get such great laws in this state...

Salt Lake Valley's Pool Rules

The Salt Lake Valley Health Department has weighed in on the Crypto problem, and they have a slightly different take on the State's rule:

Any child under three years old, any child not toilet trained, and anyone who lacks control of defecation shall wear a water resistant swim diaper and waterproof swimwear. Swim diapers and waterproof swimwear shall have waist and leg openings fitted such that they are in contact with the waist or leg around the entire circumference.

I don't remember reading anything about "under three" in the Utah State rule, but if I operated a public pool in Salt Lake County (Heaven forbid), I wouldn't look any further. I'd post that, and hope to be done with it until Labor Day.

Besides the three year old restriction, doesn't "anyone who lacks control of defecation" sound better than "those who cannot control evacuative bodily functions"?

Er, on second thought, maybe not.

Revisiting Signage

Last Fall, in this post regarding appropriate pool signage, I suggested an alternative to the standard "Children Must Wear Diapers" sign.

Recently, as noted in the post immediately below, the Utah State Department of Health has proposed some rules. They use some terminology that may help in the sign drafting.

Why not consider posting a sign that says:

"Young children and those who cannot control evacuative bodily functions must wear swim diapers or waterproof swimwear"

That just might keep everyone out of the pool, and then you can save on chlorine...

New Proposed Pool Rules

The Utah Department of Health has submitted a proposed rule to try to avoid, or at least minimize the risk of, another Cryptosporidiosis outbreak this summer; a link to their release on the proposed rule is here.

For those of you who just want the quick summary, here it is, according to the Department of Health:

SUMMARY OF THE RULE OR CHANGE: The following additions have been made: 1) a definition of a cleansing shower has been added; 2) a requirement for operators to follow The Centers for Disease Control Fecal Accident Response Recommendations; 3) a requirement prohibiting swimmers from swimming if they have diarrhea, or have had diarrhea within the last two weeks; 4) a requirement for young children and those who cannot control evacuative bodily functions to wear swim diapers or waterproof swimwear; 5) requirements pool operators must follow in response to the Department of Health issuance of Cryptosporidiosis "Watches" and "Warnings"; 6) modifications to the requirement for drain covers that are less than 24 inches by 24 inches to meet the cited ANSI/ASME standard rather than requiring a listing by a laboratory that has tested the drain cover using the ANSI/ASME standard; 7) a requirement to provide soap for patrons in the shower area, in addition to lavatories; and 8)the drain cover requirement is relaxed to allow large drain covers that meet the standard but that have not been independently certified to meet the standard.

Regular readers of this blog, and those who know me, are well aware that I'm a strong advocate of relying upon others for assistance in rulemaking and enforcement; these rules, if adopted, will help associations protect the health of owners and guests while avoiding the risks associated with familial status discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.