The CPSC voted 3-2 on September 28 to reverse a prior ruling and will now require that the sumps (the open area over which a drain cover is installed) on “unblockable drains” be unblockable, too.Previously, only the drain cover itself had to be of the unblockable size. No public comment was allowed prior to the vote. The reversal is retroactive.
The new ruling will only affect swimming pools and spas with drain sumps smaller than 18” x 23” that do not have multiple drains and/or secondary anti-entrapment systems. Nevertheless, it is likely that thousands of pools that were previously compliant with the VGB have been made non-compliant and will be required to make changes.
