The Virginia Graeme Baker Act (VGBA) was passed
in December 2007, and then
changed in May 2021. The
update implemented caused a rolling
change, with many existing public
pools and spas either forced to close or
comply.
A recent tragedy this past March
in Houston, Texas — where a girl
tragically died in a pool suction
entrapment accident, and the pool
operator failed to produce VGBA
drain cover proof of compliance
documentation, which is mandatory
— re-sparked conversation over suction
entrapment and the importance the
VGBA plays in swimmer safety.
As such, we spoke with Hassan
Hamza P.E. of Vacless Systems, who
is passionate about the awareness
of swimming pool and spa safety
while providing products to prevent
injuries and deaths associated with
entrapment.
AQUA: How are we doing as an
industry since the VGBA was passed in
December of 2007?
Hassan Hamza: Fifteen years have
passed since the Virginia Graeme
Baker Act (VGBA) was passed by the
United States Congress to establish the
guidelines for pool and spa safety. The
most important part of these guidelines
are rules to curb and eliminate body
entrapments that cause severe injuries
or death. Since then, the Consumer
Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
stats show a 76% annual decrease in
body entrapment related deaths. The
decrease is owed to the relentless
efforts of the pool industry and the
health departments in implementing
the VGBA regulations.
However, recent data shows there
is a 17% spike in hospital emergency
room non-fatal and treatable pool
drowning injuries involving children.
The spike may be seen as relaxation
following the VGBA guidelines and
should be treated as an alarming call
for a reminder of the dangers of suction
entrapments during the swim season.
AQ: Can you briefly describe the
different products that prevent suction
entrapment?
HH: Many methods and devices are
being installed in pools and spas to
tackle the issue of body entrapments,
including and not limited to, adding
extra Suction Outlet Fitting Assemblies
(SOFA) — sometimes referred to as
main drains — covering those SOFAs
with non-blockable covers, venting of
the suction line of the pump, adding
a secondary Safety Vacuum Release
System (SVRS) or adding a pump
shutoff system.
AQ: What are some of the advantages
of an SVRS system?
HH: Safety Vacuum Release and Pump
Shut-off Systems idle the pump upon
entrapment by either inducting air into
the suction side of the pump to make
the pump lose prime, or by turning the
pump off.
Some of the aforementioned
systems are manually resettable and
the others are automatically resettable.
The disadvantage of the Pump Shut-
Off Systems is they sometimes don’t
completely eliminate the entrapping
holding force because the column of
head created by the pump suction is
still in front of the pump. That column
of water will not be released unless it is
vented to atmospheric air.
To correct this disadvantage, some
SVRS manufacturers have devices that
turn the pump off while simultaneously
inducting ambient air into the suction
line.
