California is under worsening drought conditions that will likely lead to actions by local municipalities negatively affecting the pool, spa, and hot tub industry as well as consumers.
Join the California Pool and Spa Association in a special virtual Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, June 23, at 6 p.m., where they will discuss:
• What the CPSA is doing to represent their members.
• Drought facts and information about pools, spas, and hot tubs.
• Resources for our industry.
• Resources for consumers.
• What YOU can do at a grassroots level to help.
To register for the CPSA Town Hall, click here.
This will be a facilitated discussion with the CPSA and PHTA Advocacy Team Members. Attendees will walk away armed with the latest information about California’s drought, what CPSA and PHTA are doing to fight for you, and the tools and resources for you to do your own part in quashing legislation that will harm our industry and consumers.
For example, under worsening drought conditions, California water agencies are urging communities to formally declare a drought emergency and to enact restrictions on watering and non-essential use of water. In an effort to conserve every drop of water, this has caused the agencies to look to swimming pools and spas and enact such restrictions as no filling of newly constructed pools, limiting the amount of pool water that can be changed out per month, and solar coverings for pools when not in use.
CPSA is aggressively pushing back against the narrative that pools are water wasters, and the results have been a mixed.
On May 9, CPSAmembers attended the Simi Valley City Council Meeting, in north Los Angeles County, and spoke about how their businesses would be affected by a ban on filling all new pools. Although the Simi Valley City Council declared a Stage 4 drought emergency, they exempted the filling of new pools and spas as well as filling for resurfacing or other work. Limits on water changeout to a foot per month will go into effect June 1. Pools must have a solar covering when not in use.
On May 10, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors declared a Stage 3 drought emergency. CPSA provided testimony and won a partial victory. Pools currently under construction will be allowed to be filled; however, permits pulled for new pool projects will not be allowed to be filled from the municipal water supply. This does NOT mean new pools cannot be built. Unfortunately, it means new pools must be filled with water that is trucked in, or they may incur anything from a warning to a $250 fine for filling with municipal water.
Also in May, CPSA formally asked the North Marin Water District to reconsider its outright ban on filling of newly constructed pools and spas. Despite their effort to overturn this, the District Board voted to uphold the ban.
As demonstrated at the Simi Valley City Council meeting when four builder members came to speak up, your involvement can have a significant impact on the outcome.
CPSA is looking for a team of proactive volunteers on the ready in each metropolitan region of California to show up and speak up, sometimes with very little notice. If you would like to be a pool industry drought advocate for your area, contact Mike Lasher, CPSA Director, at mlasher@phta.org or call CPSA at (714) 356-2944.
