2023 Texas Statutes › Health and Safety Code › Title 5 - Sanitation and Environmental Quality › Subtitle A - Sanitation › Chapter 341 - Minimum Standards of Sanitation and Health Protection Measures › Subchapter D. Sanitation and Safety of Facilities Used by Public › Section 341.064. Swimming Pools, Artificial Swimming Lagoons, and Bathhouses

Sec. 341.064. SWIMMING POOLS, ARTIFICIAL SWIMMING LAGOONS, AND BATHHOUSES.  (a)  An owner, manager, operator, or other attendant in charge of a public swimming pool or an artificial swimming lagoon shall maintain the public swimming pool or artificial swimming lagoon in a sanitary condition.
(b)  The bacterial content of the water in a public swimming pool or in an artificial swimming lagoon may not exceed the safe limits prescribed by department standards.  A minimum free residual chlorine of 2.0 parts for each one million units of water in a public spa and a minimum free residual chlorine of 1.0 part for each one million units of water in other public swimming pools or in artificial swimming lagoons, or any other method of disinfectant approved by the department, must be maintained in a public swimming pool in use or in an artificial swimming lagoon in use.
(b-1)  The department shall approve or reject a request to use another method of disinfectant under Subsection (b) not later than the 90th day after the date the request was made.  If the department does not approve or reject the method in accordance with this subsection, the person who made the request may file an action to compel the department to approve or reject the method or to show good cause for an extension of time to make a determination.  Venue for an action brought under this subsection is Travis County.
(c)  Water in a public swimming pool or in an artificial swimming lagoon may not show an acid reaction to a standard pH test.
(d)  A public bathhouse and its surroundings shall be kept in a sanitary condition at all times.
(e)  Facilities shall be provided in a public swimming pool or in an artificial swimming lagoon for adequate protection of bathers against sputum contamination.
(f)  A person known to be or suspected of being infected with a transmissible condition of a communicable disease shall be excluded from a public swimming pool and from an artificial swimming lagoon.
(g)  The construction and appliances of a public swimming pool and of an artificial swimming lagoon must be such as to reduce to a practical minimum the possibility of drowning or of injury to bathers.  The construction after September 4, 1945, of a public swimming pool or the construction after September 1, 2017, of an artificial swimming lagoon must conform to good public health engineering practices.
(h)  Bathing suits and towels furnished to bathers shall be thoroughly washed with soap and hot water and thoroughly rinsed and dried after each use.
(i)  Dressing rooms of a public swimming pool or of an artificial swimming lagoon shall contain shower facilities.
(j)  A comb or hairbrush used by two or more persons may not be permitted or distributed in a bathhouse of a public swimming pool or of an artificial swimming lagoon.
(k)  The operator or manager of a public swimming pool or of an artificial swimming lagoon shall provide adequate and proper approved facilities for the disposal of human excreta by the bathers.
(l)  In adopting rules governing lifesaving equipment to be maintained by a public swimming pool, the executive commissioner may not require a separate throwing line longer than two-thirds the maximum width of the pool.
(l-1)  Rules adopted under this chapter may not prohibit the consumption of food or beverages in a public swimming pool or artificial swimming lagoon that is privately owned and operated.
(m)  Repealed by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 821 (H.B. 1468), Sec. 5, eff. June 15, 2017.
(n)  A county or municipality may:
(1)  require that the owner or operator of a public swimming pool or of an artificial swimming lagoon within the jurisdiction of the county or municipality obtain a permit for operation of the public swimming pool or artificial swimming lagoon;
(2)  inspect a public swimming pool or an artificial swimming lagoon within the jurisdiction of the county or municipality for compliance with this section; and
(3)  impose and collect a reasonable fee in connection with a permit or inspection required under this subsection provided the following are met:
(A)  the auditor for the county shall review the program every two years to ensure that the fees imposed do not exceed the cost of the program; and
(B)  the county refunds the permit holders any revenue determined by the auditor to exceed the cost of the program.
(o)  A county or municipality may by order close, for the period specified in the order, a public swimming pool or an artificial swimming lagoon within the jurisdiction of the county or municipality if the operation of the public swimming pool or artificial swimming lagoon violates this section or a permitting or inspection requirement imposed by the county or municipality under Subsection (n).
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.  Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 339, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 618, Sec. 1, eff. June 20, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.0863, eff. April 2, 2015.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 563 (H.B. 2430), Sec. 1, eff. June 16, 2015.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 821 (H.B. 1468), Sec. 2, eff. June 15, 2017.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 821 (H.B. 1468), Sec. 3, eff. June 15, 2017.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 821 (H.B. 1468), Sec. 5, eff. June 15, 2017.