Pool at Elgin YMCA reopens

The swimming pool at the Taylor Family YMCA in Elgin that was closed earlier this month because it was not in compliance with new drain standards has reopened.

While the Olympic-sized pool still doesn’t meet new suction entrapment requirements that went into effect Oct. 1, YMCA officials have promised to complete the necessary work in mid-December, CEO Rick Reigner said.

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.

In exchange for scheduling and agreeing to do the necessary work, the Illinois Department of Public Health allowed the YMCA to reopen the pool Friday evening.

“We’ve never had a problem with our drains since that pool has been opened in 1976,” Reigner said. “So basically, we’re complying with a state mandate and we’ll do what we’re supposed to do,” Reigner said.

The news of the pool’s reopening came as the YMCA was preparing to move its swimming lessons to the pool at Elgin High School.

Reigner hopes the $45,000 project is completed by Jan. 9, at the start of the next swimming session. The project involves removing existing main drain lines and putting in new ones and is expected to last from one to two weeks. The work will need to be evaluated to ensure it meets the new pool guidelines.

These new requirements come as part of 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.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. A list of noncompliant facilities is available at idph.state.il.us.