The fate of at least five large swimming pools in Kentucky is uncertain because of new state regulations about the number of lifeguards required at swimming pools.
The new law, which went into effect earlier this year, requires that every pool must have one lifeguard for every 2,000 square feet of water, as well as one lifeguard for a pool of any size that allows bathers under 17 to enter the facility without an adult.
The law applies to the larger pools even if children don’t enter the water.
The Signature Club in Lexington was among the first of Kentucky’s pools to get the notice. Pool operator Ryan Wall got the notice in March from a Lexington-Fayette Health Department inspector. Now, whether there’s one person in the pool, or 50, they still have to have three lifeguards.
“I think a broad stroke of the brush for these regulations has kind of put facilities in a bind,” Wall said.
While the Signature Club is now in compliance, as of early August, at least five pools in Lexington-Fayette County were not. According to the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, Lexington Athletic Center, Lancaster Aquatic Center, Racquet Club Apartments, Merrick Place Condominiums and The Pinnacle were all granted a 30day grace period to comply or face closure.
The Lexington Aquatic Center, which is just four feet deep and has never had an incident since it opened 36 years ago, stated that the new regulation is a drastic overreach.
LAC estimates that the costs incurred by the addition of lifeguards will approach about $200,000 per year, a financial situation that cannot be realistically overcome.
A sign posted at the aquatic center reads: “We are perplexed on how our pool’s 36-year zero incident track record can be improved by spending an additional $200,000 a year. The new regulation in LAC’s case is truly trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist, and the economic burden imposed will unfortunately result in the permanent closure of for-profit lap swimming pools like ours across Kentucky.”
LAC was granted an extension for compliance until Jan. 1, 2024, and they hope that by then, the regulations can be updated so as not to include lap pools like theirs.
Managers said they’ve hired attorneys and lobbyists to implement changes.
Amanda Mays Bledsoe, a state senator who represents parts of Fayette, Mercer, Boyle, and Woodford Counties, said she only began to get messages about the pool’s situation on August 6th.
Bledsoe said the outcome should be a commonsense solution to ensure lap pools like LAC aren't treated the same as a recreational pool.
Although she isn’t sure how it will be negotiated, she said the opportunity for compromise exists.
