• The Arkansas Department of Health regulates swimming pools in the stateswimming pool image by apeschi from Fotolia.com
  
  When the weather turns warm millions of men, women and children flock to their local swimming pool for relief. Pool owners in Arkansas should remember that the state health department reviews the cleaning and disinfecting of Arkansas pools and oversees compliance with all other current regulations regarding the operation of swimming pools.
  
  

Permits

• The Health Department of the State of Arkansas issues three types of swimming pool permits--permits for new pools, renewal permits and provisional permits. The Health Department issues provisional permits to older pools which don't meet all the requirements for a new pool but maintain proper water quality and safety standards. The state evaluates each provisional license annually.
  
  

Maintenance

• Before filling and opening the pool each summer, the pool operator must check to ensure that the pool has no cracks, no visible dirt or algae, properly secured drains, strainers and skimmers, good lighting, maintained walkways and decking, a working filter system and chlorinators (with a ventilation method), and a working flow meter.
  
  

Safety

• Pools in Arkansas must have at least a 4-foot-high fence surrounding the pool with a self-closing, self-latching lock on the gate. The pool must maintain American Red Cross-approved life-saving equipment, which the pool owner must keep in working order and have available at all times. Depth markers must show visibly and a water test kit must remain in the pool area with unexpired markers. The pool operator must maintain a stocked first aid kit in the pool area and must have on-hand mandatory record forms, such as reports of accidents or drownings as well as pool operation records. Operators of indoor pools must ventilate the pool area to prevent moisture accumulation.
  
  

Warning Signs

• Arkansas pools must post warning signs to the public on a variety of subjects. The sign should warn people with open wounds to keep a bandage on their wounds. The sign should direct all pool users to take a soap shower before entering the pool, to launder bathing suits or towels before using them and to not bring food products into the pool area. A sign near the diving board should provide diving board rules and a warning sign near the chemical/chlorine room should warn people that they should not enter the area. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers useful sample signs.
  
  

Lifeguards

• Lifeguards for Arkansas pools must demonstrate competency in life saving and water safety. An Arkansas pool owner may determine this competency. The American Red Cross suggests that lifeguards pass the American Red Cross lifesaving course, as well as the American Red Cross first aid and CPR courses. The Red Cross offers these courses for certification to individuals who have reached their 16th birthday, or will reach it by the end of the course.