Questions and Answers: Accessibility Requirements for Existing Swimming Pools at Hotels and Other Public Accommodations

2. What does the ADA require for accessibility of pools?

Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by places of public accommodation, including many private businesses. Title III requires newly constructed and altered business facilities to be fully accessible to people with disabilities, applying the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. In addition, Title III requires businesses to remove accessibility barriers in existing facilities when doing so is readily achievable.

The 2010 Standards require that newly constructed or altered swimming pools, wading pools, and spas have an accessible way for people with disabilities to enter and exit the pool. The Standards also provide technical specifications for when a means of entry is accessible, such as, for pool lifts, the location, size of the seat, lifting capacity, and clear floor space. You can see the 2010 ADA Standards at http://www.ada.gov/2010ADAstandards_index.htm.

For existing swimming pools built before the effective date of the new rule, the 2010 Standards provide the guide for achieving accessibility. However, full compliance may not be required in existing facilities (see question 4).

The 2010 Standards explain whether a newly constructed or altered pool needs to have one or two accessible means of entry and exit. Section 242 provides that large pools (pools with 300 linear feet of pool wall or more) must have two accessible means of entry and exit. One means of entry/exit must be a fixed pool lift or sloped entry; the other entry can be a transfer wall, transfer system, or pool stairs. Small pools (pools with less than 300 linear feet of pool wall) must provide at least one accessible means of entry/exit, which must be either a fixed pool lift or a sloped entry.

The 2010 Standards also provide details about what features an accessible means of entry or exit should have. Specifically, section 1009 addresses the location, size of the seat, lifting capacity, and clear floor space required for fixed pool lifts, as well as the requirements for sloped entries, transfer walls, transfer systems, and pool stairs. A copy of the 2010 ADA Standards is available at http://www.ada.gov/2010ADAstandards_index.htm.

The 2010 Standards require that new or altered wading pools have a sloped entry. New or altered spas must have at least one accessible means of entry, which may be a transfer wall, a transfer system, or a pool lift. See sections 242.3 and 242.4 of the 2010 Standards.