Chapter ATCP 76

ATCP 76.03(27) (27) “Enclosure” means the area within the barrier that separates the pool or water attraction area from other areas of the building or premises.

ATCP 76.03(28) (28) “Engineer” means a registered professional engineer licensed in Wisconsin.

ATCP 76.03(29) (29) “Entry access point” means the area in which a patron enters a water attraction.

ATCP 76.03(30) (30) “Equipment” means all the necessary items for the operation of a public pool.

ATCP 76.03(31) (31) “Erosion feeder” means a chemical feed device that contains powder, tablets, briquettes, or sticks and allows a water stream to pass through it that erodes and dissolves the chemical.

ATCP 76.03(32) (32) “Exercise pool” means a pool of 5 feet or 1.5 meters in depth or less that can operate with or without a current.

ATCP 76.03(33) (33) “Existing pool” means a pool operating with a license first issued by the department or its agent on or before June 30, 2023.

ATCP 76.03(34) (34) “Feature” means a pool with a depth greater than 16 feet, a pool with a surface area greater than 20,000 sq. ft., or a physical object permanently installed in a pool that is intended for recreational use including, a pool slide, waterslide, pad walk, basketball hoop, diving board, wave generator, treadmill, vortex pool, climbing wall, current pool, swim-up bar, vanishing edge pool, tethered or nontethered floatable, or a spray feature.

ATCP 76.03(35) (35) “Filter aid” means finely powdered diatomaceous earth or similar approved material used to coat a septum type filter.

ATCP 76.03(36) (36) “Flow sensing” means an automatic safety mechanism designed to disable chemical delivery equipment in the event of a significant decrease, or lack of, a return water flow required for the proper dispersal of a chemical related to water disinfection.”

ATCP 76.03(37) (37) “Flume” means that part of a slide within which sliding takes place.

ATCP 76.03(38) (38) “Free chlorine residual” means the portion of the total available chlorine that is not “combined chlorine” and is primarily present as hypochlorous acid or HOCl-, hypochlorite ion or OCl-, or Cyanurate-bound available chlorine.

ATCP 76.03(39) (39) “General public” means any person who patronizes a public pool.

ATCP 76.03(40) (40) “Imminent health hazard” means a condition that presents a substantial likelihood to cause severe adverse health consequences or death.

ATCP 76.03(41) (41) “Instructional Program” means an activity occurring in the water that is led by a person teaching a participant how to do an exercise, movement, skill, or similar activity, including a swimming class, an exercise class, or a water aerobics class.

ATCP 76.03(42) (42) “Interactive play attraction” means a water attraction, including manufactured devices using sprayed, jetted, or other water sources contacting patrons and not incorporating standing or captured water as part of the patron activity area.

ATCP 76.03 Note Note: Splash pads and spray pads are examples of interactive play attractions.

ATCP 76.03(43) (43) “Leisure river” means a channeled flow of water of near-constant depth in which the water is moved by pumps or other means of propulsion to provide a river-like flow that transports patrons over a defined path.

ATCP 76.03(44) (44) “Lifeguard” means a person holding a current certificate from a course that meets the criteria for lifeguarding, first aid, CPR, and AED training and certification set forth in the 2018 Model Aquatic Health Code or as approved by the department.

ATCP 76.03 Note Note: A listing of approved courses may be obtained by contacting the department. Email [e-mail] or contact the Bureau of Food and Recreational Businesses at [phone] or PO Box 8911, Madison, Wisconsin 53708-8911.

ATCP 76.03(45) (45) “Lifeguard and attendant staffing plan” means a written description about how lifeguards and attendants will be used at pools.

ATCP 76.03(46) (46) “Maximum flow” means the highest flow rate attainable by the pump without friction from the recirculation system.

ATCP 76.03(47) (47) “NSF” means National Sanitation Foundation.

ATCP 76.03(48) (48) “New pool” means a pool operating with a license first issued by the department or its agent on or after July 1, 2023.

ATCP 76.03(49) (49) “Nontethered floatable” means a flotation device added to a pool that is not tethered to the pool basin, allowing movement of the device around the water, including floating pads or other similar items. “Nontethered floatable” does not include a rubber tube in a leisure river or swim wings.

ATCP 76.03(50) (50) “Operator” means the owner of a pool or the person responsible to the owner for the operation of a pool, including the mechanical systems operations of the pool.

ATCP 76.03(51) (51) “Oxidizer” means a chemical that can take away electrons from a molecule or atom, thereby destroying organic matter.

ATCP 76.03(52) (52) “Owner” means the state, a political subdivision of the state, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, or individual owning or controlling any pool.

ATCP 76.03(53) (53) “Pad walk” means a tethered floatable under rope and netting in an activity pool that allows a patron to cross the water using his or her hands.

ATCP 76.03(54) (54) “Pathogen” means a microbial organism capable of causing disease.

ATCP 76.03(55) (55) “Patron” means a human user of a pool.

ATCP 76.03(56) (56) “Patron load” means the number of patrons in a body of water of a pool.

ATCP 76.03(57) (57) “Peak flow” means the highest flow rate attainable by the pump within the pool’s recirculation system.

ATCP 76.03(58) (58) “Person” means an individual, partnership, association, firm, company, corporation, municipality, county, town or state agency, whether tenant, owner, lessee, or licensee, or the agent, heir, or assignee of any of these.

ATCP 76.03(59) (59) “Plunge pool” means a pool with a depth of greater than 24 inches or 61 centimeters, located at the exit end of a waterslide flume and intended and designed to receive a patron emerging from the flume.

ATCP 76.03(60) (60) “Pool and water attraction area” means, in an indoor or outdoor facility, the pool or water attraction and the area within a continuous enclosure.

ATCP 76.03(61) (61) “Pool or water attraction” means a public pool or water attraction if it serves or is installed for use by the state, a political subdivision of the state, a motel, a hotel, a resort, a camp, a campground, a club, an association, a housing development, an apartment complex with 3 or more dwelling units, a condominium complex, or a housing complex having a homeowners’ association, a school, a religious, charitable or youth organization, or an educational or rehabilitative facility.

ATCP 76.03(62) (62) “Pool slide” means any slide where the drop from the slide terminus to water is less than 20 inches or 50.8 centimeters into greater than 24 inches of water and the flume carries less than 100 gallons of water per minute.

ATCP 76.03(63) (63) “Priority foundation item” means all of the following:

ATCP 76.03(63)(a) (a) A provision in this chapter whose application supports, facilitates, or enables one or more priority items.

ATCP 76.03(63)(b) (b) An item that requires the purposeful incorporation of specific actions, equipment, or procedures by the operator such as personnel training, infrastructure, documentation, or record keeping.

ATCP 76.03(63)(c) (c) An item that is denoted in this chapter with a superscript Pf-Pf.

ATCP 76.03(64) (64) “Priority item” means all of the following:

ATCP 76.03(64)(a) (a) A provision in this chapter directly related to health and safety that if not met or is missing could significantly contribute to an increased risk for injury or illness.

ATCP 76.03(64)(b) (b) An item that is denoted in this chapter with a superscript P-P.

ATCP 76.03(65) (65) 

ATCP 76.03(65)(a) (a) “Public pool” means a structure, basin, chamber, or tank, and appurtenant buildings and equipment, used for wading, swimming, diving, water recreation, or therapy, including an exercise pool, mobile pool, whirlpool, cold soak pool, or water attraction.

ATCP 76.03(65)(b) (b) “Public pool” does not include an inflated mobile structure, basin, chamber, or tank; a swim pond; an individual therapeutic pod, tub, or bath; a fixed or mobile structure, basin, chamber, or tank that serves fewer than 3 individual residences; or a fixed or mobile structure, basin, chamber, or tank that is used solely for animal training, therapy, or exercise and the only individuals in the pool are the animal trainer or handler, animal health or wellness professional or the animal’s individual owner.

ATCP 76.03(66) (66) “Responsible supervisor” means a person designated by the operator to maintain compliance with regulations governing safety and sanitation of a pool.

ATCP 76.03(67) (67) “Reverse flow pool” means a pool type that has a recirculation system, where surface water is drawn from the pool basin through the gutter system, skimmer, or similar device and is filtered, disinfected and returned to the basin through the main drain or floor water inlets.

ATCP 76.03(68) (68) “Run-out slide” means a waterslide where the rider does not exit into a plunge pool, but has a deceleration area that permits the patron to stop before exiting the slide flume.

ATCP 76.03(69) (69) “Safety data sheet” means written information that details the hazards associated with a chemical and gives information related to its safe use.

ATCP 76.03(70) (70) “Shallow portion” means the part of the pool that is 5 feet or 1.5 meters in depth or less.

ATCP 76.03(71) (71) “Slide terminus” means the last 10 feet or 3.1 meters of a slide flume discharging into a pool.

ATCP 76.03(72) (72) “Spectator area” means a designated area for people to observe or watch an activity in a pool.

ATCP 76.03(73) (73) “Splash zone” means the area where water falls on the floor of an interactive play attraction.

ATCP 76.03(74) (74) “Superchlorination” means the addition of an oxidizing product such as chlorine to pool water to raise the level of oxidizer to at least 10 ppm. “Superchlorination” is sometimes referred to as superoxidation.

ATCP 76.03(75) (75) “Swim-up bar” means an area of a pool that includes barstool type seating, a countertop, and often a serving area where patrons can order a beverage without leaving the pool.

ATCP 76.03(76) (76) “Swim wings” means hollow, ring-shaped pieces of plastic, filled with air, that a patron wears on their arms while in the water to help them to float.

ATCP 76.03(77) (77) “Tethered floatable” means a play item or flotation device that is affixed to the basin of a pool to restrict movement of the item.

ATCP 76.03(78) (78) “Unauthorized access” means the entrance of a person into a restricted area without permission of the operator or the operator’s designated representative.

ATCP 76.03(79) (79) “Therapy pool” means a pool used for professionally administered physical therapy.

ATCP 76.03(80) (80) “Turnover time” means the time for a given volume of water to pass through the recirculation system.

ATCP 76.03(81) (81) “Vanishing edge pool” means a pool where the water flows over one or more edges, producing a visual effect of water with no boundary.

ATCP 76.03(82) (82) “Vortex pool” means a water attraction that is equipped with a method of transporting water in the basin for the purpose of propelling patrons at speeds dictated by the velocity of the moving stream.

ATCP 76.03(83) (83) “Wading pool” means a pool having a shallow portion that is a maximum depth of 24 inches or 61 centimeters and intended for children’s play.

ATCP 76.03(84) (84) “Water attraction” means a pool with design and operational features that provide a patron recreational activity other than conventional swimming that involves partial or total immersion of the body, including an activity pool, interactive play attraction, leisure river, plunge pool, vortex pool, vanishing edge pool, waterslide, run-out slide, drop slide, pool slide, wave pool, zero-depth entry pool, and any public pool with features except wading pools.

ATCP 76.03(85) (85) “Waterslide” means a slide where a water flow of 100 gallons of water per minute or more is intended to carry a rider down a flume.

ATCP 76.03(86) (86) “Wave pool” means a water attraction designed to simulate breaking or cyclical waves for the purposes of surfing or general play.

ATCP 76.03(87) (87) “Whirlpool” means a small pool, sometimes called a “spa,” which uses higher temperature water than other pools and may include a water agitation system.

ATCP 76.03(88) (88) “Zero-depth entry pool” means a water attraction having a sloped entrance to where the water depth is 0 inches at the shallowest point.

ATCP 76.03 History History: CR 22-021: cr. Register June 2023 No. 810, eff. 9-24-23; correction in (2), (49), (65), (77) made under s. 35.17, Stats., and correction in (19), (63) (a), (c), (64) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register June 2023.

ATCP 76.04 ATCP 76.04 Plans and specifications for pools.

ATCP 76.04(1) (1) Approval required. An operator shall submit pool plans for new construction and obtain approval from the Wisconsin department of safety and professional services pursuant to ch. SPS 390. After July 1, 2023, the following documents shall be kept onsite and made available to the department or its agent upon request:

ATCP 76.04(1)(a) (a) Approved pool plans.

ATCP 76.04(1)(b) (b) Engineering statements and reports, when applicable.

ATCP 76.04(1)(c) (c) Compliance declaration, if applicable.

ATCP 76.04(1)(d) (d) Conditional Wisconsin department of safety and professional services approvals, if applicable.

ATCP 76.04(1)(e) (e) Final Wisconsin department of safety and professional services inspection approval.

ATCP 76.04(1)(f) (f) Wisconsin department of safety and professional services or department variances, if applicable.

ATCP 76.04(2) (2) Modifications. An operator shall submit pool modification plans to the Wisconsin department of safety and professional services pursuant to ch. SPS 390. Documentation shall be made available to the department or its agent upon request as required under sub. (1).

ATCP 76.04(3) (3) Change of operator. For a pool constructed prior to July 1, 2023, pool construction plans are not required when a change of operator occurs and a new license is required pursuant to s. ATCP 76.05 (1).

ATCP 76.04 History History: CR 22-021: cr. Register June 2023 No. 810, eff. 9-24-23; correction in (1) (intro.) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register June 2023 No. 810.

ATCP 76.045 ATCP 76.045 License holder qualifications. To qualify for a license, an applicant shall do all of the following:

ATCP 76.045(1) (1) Owner. Be an owner of the pool or an officer of the legal entity owning the pool.

ATCP 76.045(2) (2) Payment of fees. Pay the applicable license fees at the time the application is submitted.

ATCP 76.045 History History: CR 22-021: cr. Register June 2023 No. 810, eff. 9-24-23.

ATCP 76.046 ATCP 76.046 License holder responsibilities. Upon acceptance of the license issued by the department or its agent, the license holder shall do all of the following in order to retain the license:

ATCP 76.046(1) (1) Allow an authorized representative of the department or its agent access to the pool and provide any required information to that authorized representative.