Taylor Family YMCA pool closed indefinitely
The pool at the Taylor Family YMCA in Elgin closed Tuesday afternoon until further notice.
The Illinois Department of Public Health ordered approximately 500 pools across the state to close based on noncompliance with new suction entrapment requirements that took effect Oct. 1.
The pool at the YMCA was open the first few days of the month, CEO Rick Reigner said, because he had conflicting information from the state. The YMCA received a construction permit Sept. 8 that indicated it had a year to complete the work — but according to the state deadline work needed to be finished with a final inspection also conducted by Oct. 1.
Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman Sabrina Miller said the list of noncompliant pools is changing daily based on updated information, but the Taylor Family YMCA case is clear.
“The Taylor YMCA should be closed,” Miller said. “We have no record of them completing that construction or of an inspection to approve any changes in operations of the pool that they made.”
When presented with that response from the state Tuesday afternoon, Reigner told the Daily Herald he did not realize the health department order to close superseded the one-year time frame indicated by the construction permit. So he decided to close the pool.
“We are erring on the side of safety and closing our pool until we get some definitive answers,” Reigner said.
The new requirements came with the federal Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, passed in 2007. Virginia, 7, died after being trapped by the suction of a hot tub drain in 2002, spurring a push for anti-entrapment drain covers.
Reigner said the pool at the Taylor Family YMCA needs significant renovation to comply and the work is still in the process of being scheduled. He said there were a lot of moving parts and he had no timeline for the pool’s reopening.
Since 2008 the Illinois Department of Public Health has issued six notices to all licensed swimming facilities about the need to comply with the new pool and spa safety act, including its Oct. 1 deadline. Reigner said the YMCA has been communicating with the state department for close to two years concerning necessary renovations.
A list of noncompliant facilities is available at idph.state.il.us and will be updated regularly, according to Miller.