The US Environmental Protection Agency is the federal agency responsible for oversight
of the recreational water quality initiative within the United States. The Beach Watch
website provides valuable summary information on recreational water quality for the
entire United States. Currently, there is summary data on more than 1800 beaches
throughout the United States. At this site, you can also link to state and/or county
data on recreational water quality testing results and other information related to
recreational water quality.
The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (Public Law 106-284)
published in October, 2000, defines the scope and responsibilities of all levels of
government with respect to coastal beach safety and health.
Director's Orders 83 is the governing document that describes the Public Health
Program expectations of Park Managers. The requirements outlined in DO 83 are in
keeping with the requirements as set forth in the Management Policies of the National
Park Service, GPRAct requirements and the NPS Strategic Plan(large file).
Within the National Park Service, some recreational waters are not monitored by state
and/or county authorities and ensuring recreational water quality is the
responsibility of park management. The guidance documents for conducting recreational
water quality assessments is found the following reference manuals:
Reference Manual 83(D1)
for bathing beaches (pdf)
Reference Manual 83(D2)
for swimming pools (pdf)
Reference Manual 83(D3)
for hot tubs and spas (pdf)
Note: Reference Manuals 83(D2) [American National Standard Institute (
ANSI/NSPI-1 1991)- Standard for Public Swimming Pools] and (D3) [American
National Standard for Spas (ANSI/NSPI-2 1999) - American National Standard
for Public Spas] are copyrighted documents that must be purchased from
the publisher. The documents can be obtained from the following:
National Spa and Pool Institute
2111 Eisenhower Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.838.0083 ext 153
News
Policy and Guidelines
RM83(D1)
- Bathing Beaches
RM83(D2) - Swimming
Pools
RM83(D3) - Hot Tubs/Spas
General Information
Disinfection
and Operation Guidelines (CDC Healthy Swimming)
Cleaning
up Bodily Fluids on Pool Surfaces (CDC Healthy
Swimming)
Vomit and
Blood Contamination in Pools (CDC Healthy
Swimming)
Fecal
Accidents in Pools (CDC)
Recommended Training
Bacteriological Monitoring Report
Form (MS Excel)
HTML - Online, PDF
- Printer Friendly, Word - Modifiable, PPT - Powerpoint, TRI - Trifold
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