Updated as of June 2018
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The words, terms or phrases listed below for the purpose of this chapter, except when the context requires a different meaning, shall be defined as follows:
Includes building or installing a new swimming pool or enlarging an existing swimming pool or any of its facilities.
Includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms and partnerships, as well as individuals.
Any above-surface-type pool of more than one-hundred-cubic-foot capacity, not stationary or fixed and capable of being removed for storage.
Includes any pool of water having a water depth in excess of 18 inches and an area greater than 120 square feet designed, used and maintained for swimming purposes by an individual for use by his household and guests without fees and located on property owned, leased or otherwise used and maintained by the owner of said swimming pool; it shall further mean and include fill and draw, flow-through and recirculation pools which are artificially constructed to provide recreational facilities for swimming, bathing or wading and all buildings, equipment and appurtenances thereto. It shall not include natural outdoor ponds, rivers or lakes, nor baths used for cleansing of the body or practice of the healing arts.
Includes any artificially constructed pool intended for use by children, not designed or used for swimming, with a maximum area of 120 square feet and a maximum water depth of 18 inches.
233-2Construction and maintenance.
All materials used in the construction of private swimming pools or wading pools shall be waterproof and so designed and constructed as to facilitate emptying and cleaning and shall be maintained and operated in such manner as to be clean and sanitary at any time when any such pool shall be in use or at such times as the same shall be subject to use. Inlets of the treated water shall be so located and spaced as to secure satisfactory dispersion of the water throughout the pool and not to interfere with draining, cleaning and disinfecting of the bottom and sides. Sand or earth bottoms shall not be used.
233-3Water supply, pipes, pumps and filters.
There shall be no physical connection between a potable public or private water supply system and such private swimming pools, wading pools or portable pools below the maximum waterline of the pool or to a recirculating or heating system of said pool. The piping system shall be designed to circulate the pool water through filtering equipment. Potable water shall feed the pool with a downspout with an air gap not less than six inches from the pool overflow level. Potable water syphons will not be permitted to drain the aforesaid pools. The installation, repair and control of plumbing facilities shall comply with the Plumbing and Sanitary Codes of the Township of Riverside.
All circulating units shall have sufficient capacity to recirculate the entire contents of a pool within 18 hours or less.
233-4Water use; right of township to close pool.
All pools supplied by a public or quasi-public water supply system and not equipped with facilities for the recirculation and reuse of the pool water shall be subject to closure by order of the Board of Health during any period of emergency water shortage declared by a duly authorized public official.
Whenever any pool is a hazard to the health of the public, the Plumbing Inspector is authorized to summarily close this pool upon the failure of the owner, lessee or occupant of the premises upon which such pool is located to take satisfactory or reasonably prompt action to abate such hazard to the health of the public within 24 hours of the receipt of the notice required by § 233-12A hereof and keep such pool closed until no further hazard to the public exists, subject to the right of appeal to the Board of Health by the owner of such pool. Said appeal, however, shall not stay the action of the Plumbing Inspector.
All private swimming pools, wading pools or portable pools with a water depth of more than one foot, hereafter constructed, installed, established or maintained within the Township of Riverside, shall be provided with the necessary equipment to completely pump out or empty said pool or shall be emptied by providing one drainage outlet to be installed at the lowest point of said pool, not in excess of three inches in diameter, extending from said pool to either a storm sewer, storm sewer catch basin, lawn watering system, adequate dry well or sand filtering pit on the premises on which said private pool, wading pool or portable pool is located. The discharge of water from such pools into a storm sewer shall be permitted only where the capacity is adequate as determined by the Township Engineer. No private pool drain, wading pool drain or portable pool drain shall be connected into the sanitary sewer system. Pool water may not be discharged at the curb or upon the surface of any street. The discharge of said waters shall in no case cause or create a nuisance to the abutting property or to the public.
233-6Bacteriological standards.
Chlorine gas bearing compounds in solution shall be required as disinfecting agents for swimming pools, wading pools or portable pools. The use of ozone, ultraviolet light or any other method wherein a residual cannot be determined is prohibited. Not more than 15% of the samples of water taken from any private pool shall contain more than 250 pathogenic organisms per cubic centimeter or shall show positive test (confirmed) for coliform in any of 10 cubic centimeter portions of water at times when the pool is ready for use; provided, however, that no fewer than three samples shall disclose the presence of a bacteria content in excess of the above-described limits. For the purpose of this section, any number of samplings of water on a single day shall be considered as one sample. The Local Board of Health is hereby authorized to take samples to ensure compliance with these requirements. Free chlorine residuals and pH values shall be maintained within ranges indicated below:
| pH | Free Chlorine Residual (parts per million) | |
| 7.0 to 7.6 | 0.4 to 0.6 | |
| 8.0 to 8.4 | 2.0 to 5.0 |
All private swimming pools now existing or hereafter constructed, installed, established or maintained, with the exception of wading and portable pools, shall be completely and continuously surrounded by a permanent durable wall, fence or barrier which shall be no less than four feet in height above grade and shall be so constructed as to have no opening, mesh, hole or gap larger than two inches in any dimension, except for doors and gates; provided, however, that if a picket fence is erected or maintained, the horizontal dimension of any gap or opening shall not exceed 2 1/2 inches. A dwelling house or accessory building may be used as part of such enclosure as long as there is no entrance or exit on that part of the dwelling house or accessory building. All gates used in conjunction with any of the above-described enclosures shall conform to the specifications required above as to height and dimensions of openings, mesh, holes or gaps, in the case of fences, and all gates and doors shall be equipped with self-closing and self-latching devices for keeping the gate or door securely closed at all times when not in actual use. Gates and doors shall be locked when the pool is not in use or is unguarded or unattended.
Every outdoor wading pool or portable pool shall be enclosed by a durable wall, barrier or fence as described in the preceding subsection, unless such outdoor wading pool or portable pool is:
Emptied when not in use or unattended; or
Covered with a suitable, strong protective covering, securely fastened or locked in place, when not in use or unattended. (A cover shall be considered to be of sufficient strength and securely fastened or locked in place if, when fastened or locked in place, it will support a minimum dead weight of 100 pounds.)
All persons now owning or maintaining any outdoor swimming or wading pool shall be and hereby are granted a period of 90 days after the effective date hereof within which to enclose the same as herein provided, except that any such person now owning or maintaining an outdoor swimming pool or wading pool presently enclosed by a fence or barrier which substantially complies with the requirements of this section may be exempted from the strict requirements thereof until such time as he may substantially alter, remove, replace or rebuild such fence upon obtaining from the Building Inspector a certificate of substantial compliance as hereinafter provided.
“Substantial compliance,” for the purposes of this section, shall mean and include any fence or barrier which now or hereafter shall be maintained at a minimum height of 42 inches above grade and have no opening, mesh, hole or gap larger than four inches in any dimension.
A certificate of substantial compliance may be granted by the Building Inspector within 90 days after the effective date hereof upon written application to and establishing to the satisfaction of the Building Inspector in such a manner as shall be prescribed by said Building Inspector that the applicant’s fence is maintained in substantial compliance with the requirements of this section.
No private swimming pool, as defined by this chapter, or accessory building shall be erected or placed nearer to a street property line or nearer to a side or rear property line than would be allowed for buildings in the respective zoning districts as set forth in Chapter 255, Zoning.
No private swimming pool shall be constructed so that its drain outlet shall connect in any manner to any sewerage disposal system.
No private swimming pool shall have an area in excess of 10% of the area of the lot upon which it is constructed or installed.
No artificial lighting shall be maintained or operated in connection with a private swimming pool, wading pool or portable pool in such a manner as to be a nuisance or an annoyance to neighboring properties. Such lighting shall not shine directly upon any abutting property. No unshielded lights shall be permitted.
Application for permits for the construction and maintenance of any private swimming pool, as defined in § 233-1 hereof, shall be made to the Building Inspector by the owner of the property upon which it is to be constructed or by the contractor who will construct the same. The application shall be accompanied by duplicate sets of plans, specifications and plot plans of the property. The plot plan shall show the accurate location of the proposed pool on the property, together with any proposed accessory buildings. The plot plan shall also show the location, height and type of all existing fencing or walks on the boundary lines of the property, together with the type and height of fencing or enclosure as may be required by this chapter.
Applicants shall pay a fee of $20 to the Township of Riverside for a permit to erect a private swimming pool, as defined in this chapter, which permit fee shall be exclusive of the permit fee required for the erection of any accessory structure or structures to be used in connection with such swimming pool.
No permit for a private swimming pool, as defined in this chapter, shall be issued by the Building Inspector until the plans, specifications and plot plan have been approved by the Plumbing Inspector and the Township Engineer, and such approval must be directly obtained from the Plumbing Inspector by the applicant.
233-11Abatement of nuisances; summary closure; accessory buildings.
Any nuisance which may exist or develop in or in consequence of or in connection with any private swimming pool shall be abated and/or removed by the owners.
Whenever any private swimming pool, by reason of mechanical defects or lack of supervision, is, in the opinion of the Board of Health, polluted and detrimental to health, it shall be summarily closed.
Owners or persons in possession of private swimming pools shall allow the Plumbing Inspector and the Building Inspector access to inspect said pool and the appurtenances at any time it may be required by the Board of Health or the Township Committee of the Township of Riverside.
The Board of Health may cause any private swimming pool, as defined in this chapter, to be inspected for compliance with Chapter 269, Plumbing.
Any accessory building such as locker rooms, bathhouses, cabanas, shower rooms, toilets, runways or any other physical facility or equipment incidental to the maintenance and operation of any of the above described shall be in conformance with the rules and regulations of both the Board of Health and the Township Committee of the Township of Riverside.
Every private swimming pool, wading pool or portable pool constructed, installed, established or maintained in the Township of Riverside shall at all times comply with the requirements of the Local Board of Health. Any nuisance or hazard to health which may exist or develop in or in consequence of or in connection with any such private swimming pool, wading pool or portable pool shall be forthwith abated and removed by the owner, lessee or occupant of the premises on which said pool is located upon receipt of notice from the Plumbing Inspector of the Township of Riverside.
It shall be the duty of the Plumbing Inspector and/or the Building Inspector to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
The owner or operator of any pool within the township shall allow said Plumbing Inspector and/or Building Inspector access to any private swimming pool or wading pool or portable pool and appurtenances thereto for the purpose of inspection to ascertain compliance with this chapter and all other pertinent township ordinances, at all reasonable times.
233-13Violations and penalties.
Any person or persons, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to one or more of the following: a fine not exceeding $1,000; a term of imprisonment not exceeding 90 days; or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days.
Each day a particular violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
For more information on New Jersey pool fencing laws and regulations, or if you are interested in what designs work best around your pool, visit Carl’s at www.bycarls.com or call 732-504-3372.
