Explanatory note: This part of the Bylaw controls the licensing and use of bath houses, beauty therapy clinics, health and fitness centres, massage clinics, swimming pools and spa pools, including those which are provided at hotels and motels.
It covers procedures for licensing and operational requirements and also minimum requirements for filtration and chlorination of spa and swimming pools other than private pools.
16.1 Specific definitions
These definitions apply specifically to this part of the Bylaw in addition to the general definitions in Part 1:General Provisions:
Swimming, health and beauty facility - includes a sauna, steam room, beauty therapy clinic, massage clinic, health and fitness centre, swimming pool and spa pool but does not include a private pool associated with a private dwelling house.
Authorised officer - means a person qualified for appointment as an Environmental Health Officer under the Health Act 1956 who is appointed by us.
16.2 Licensing
16.2.1 You must not operate a swimming, health or beauty facility other than on premises currently licensed by us for that purpose.
16.2.2 You must apply for a licence for a swimming, health or beauty facility if you are the owner or manager of a premises used or intended to be used for those purposes.
16.2.3 We will only process an application for a licence for a swimming, health or beauty facility if:
(a) it is made by a natural person or persons;
(b) it is made on the prescribed form;
(c) it includes all information requested by the Council; and
(d) it includes the required licence fee.
16.2.4 We will grant you a licence if we are satisfied that your premises will comply with:
(a) the requirements of all relevant Acts and regulations;
(b) the relevant provisions of any plan or proposed plan notified and/or made operative under the Resource Management Act 1991; and
(c) this part of the Bylaw;
and we are satisfied you are familiar with this part of the Bylaw. An Authorised Officer may require you to complete a test to show that you are familiar with this part of the Bylaw.
16.2.5 You must not transfer your licence to another person or to another premises.
16.2.6 You will be responsible under your licence for ensuring that the provisions of this part of the Bylaw are complied with and that all persons working on your premises are adequately trained and supervised to prevent as far as practicable a breach of the requirements of this part of the Bylaw.
16.2.7 You must display your licence in a public part of your premises so that it can easily be seen by any member of the public or an Authorised Officer visiting your premises.
16.2.8 We will specify the date that your licence expires in your licence. You must apply for a renewal of your licence before it expires. This part of the Bylaw applies to applications for renewal of licences.
16.2.9 We may grant your licence on any terms and conditions we think fit. You must comply with any special terms and conditions specified in your licence in addition to the general requirements and any relevant specific requirements set out below.
16.3 General requirements
16.3.1 If you operate a swimming, health or beauty facility, you must maintain your premises in a state of good repair and in a clean and tidy condition, and comply with the requirements listed below in this clause 16.3.
16.3.2 You must ensure that all floors, walls, ceilings, seating and other surfaces in and around showers, pools, steam rooms and other areas likely to get moist or wet are:
(a) smooth, impervious and capable of being easily cleaned;
(b) adequately graded and drained to an outlet approved by us; and
(c) cleaned with a suitable disinfectant at least once in every 24 hours.
16.3.3 You must ensure that all toilets and changing rooms are regularly checked and cleaned throughout operating times.
16.3.4 You must install an illumination system at your premises capable of providing illumination of not less than 300 lux at a distance 900mm above the floor for the purpose of facilitating cleaning and inspection.
16.3.5 You must ensure that all parts of your premises are adequately ventilated.
16.3.6 You must serve any refreshments to customers on single use utensils unless your premises contain dishwashing facilities approved by an Authorised Officer.
16.3.7 You must provide one hand basin supplied with hot and cold water, soap and adequate hand drying facilities for every two toilets or urinals with a minimum of one hand basin in each toilet area. If the urinal is of the continuous type, every 600mm of urinal counts as one urinal.
16.3.8 You must provide at lease one sink with hot and cold water in a readily accessible position away from any part of your premises used for preparing or consuming food.
16.3.9 You must provide a separate room or suitable facilities for storing staff clothing and personal effects.
16.3.10 You must provide separate storage lockers or suitable facilities for storing clean laundry, soiled laundry, cleaning equipment, chemicals, products and materials, which must be separate from any area used for manufacturing, storing, preparing or selling food or drink.
16.3.11 You must provide receptacles for used towels which are clearly labelled and located away from any area where clean laundry is stored.
16.4 Specific requirements for saunas and steam rooms
16.4.1 You must ensure that any seating in a sauna or steam room within your premises is constructed so that the floor beneath the seating can be cleaned easily.
16.4.2 You must display a sign in a prominent part of any sauna or steam room within your premises requesting customers to sit or lie on the towel individually issued to them when using the sauna or steam room.
16.5 Specifc requirements for massage and beauty therapy clinics
16.5.1 You must ensure that all mattresses, squabs and cushions used in association with massaging or beauty therapy:
(a) are covered with an impervious material that can easily be cleaned; and
(b) are kept in good repair and laundered as frequently as necessary to maintain them in a clean and hygenic condition.
16.5.2 You must ensure that all massaging is carried out on a suitably sized towel individually issued to each customer or on some other approved covering that is either laundered or disposed of after each customer's use.
16.5.3 You must ensure that all sunbeds are wiped down and rendered hygenic with a suitable biocide after every customer's use.
16.5.4 You must not reuse wax that has been applied to a customer's body for hair removal.
16.6 Specific requirements for swimming pools and spa pools
16.6.1 If you operate a swimming or spa pool, you must display a sign in a prominent part of your premises requesting customers to shower and use the toilet before using the pool, and comply with the requirements listed below in this clause 16.6.
16.6.2 You must display a sign in a prominent part of your premises requesting customers who currently have or have had diarrhoea in the last 14 days, not to enter the swimming pool.
16.6.3 You must display a sign in the toilets and changing nappies area requesting customers to wash their hands thoroughly after using the toilet or changing nappies.
16.6.4 You must ensure that every pool on your premises is maintained to meet the current New Zealand Standard Code of Practice for the Operation of Swimming Pools.
16.6.5 You must have a written faecal accident policy in place to be followed should a faecal accidental occur.
16.6.6 When a faecal accident occurs you must:
(a) ensure that the pool is cleared of swimmers immediately;
(b) remove all solid material;
(c) add a disinfectant/spot superchlorinate;
(d) give the filters sufficient time to clear the water by allowing three turnovers of the pool. In small pools or spa pools it may be more appropriate to empty the pool and refill; and
(e) record all such faecal accidents in a register which is available for inspection by an Authorised Officer at any time when the premises is open.
16.6.7 You must ensure that every pool on your premises is provided with the following:
(a) a backflow prevention device which has been approved by an Authorised Officer;
(b) an outlet capable of removing contaminants from the deepest part of the pool, or some other method of cleaning the pool bottom which has been approved by an Authorised Officer;
(c) a surface drainage system capable of constantly removing the top layer of water from the pool;
(d) a filtration system whose design and operation is appropriate for removing Crytosporidium and which has been approved by an Authorised Officer; and
(e) automatic chlorine dosing equipment, or another system of maintaining required chlorine levels which has been approved by an Authorised Officer.
16.6.8 You must ensure that the water in every pool on your premises is maintained to the following standards:
(a) pools of less than 5,000 litres in volume, must have free available chlorine in the range of 2 – 6 grams per litre;
(b) pools of 5,000 litres or more in volume must have free available chlorine in the range of 1 – 5 grams per cubic metre;
(c) free available chlorine must make up at least 85% of the total chlorine level in a pool;
(d) the pH must be between 7.6 to 8.0 for pools less than 5,000 litres in volume and between 7.4 to 7.8 for pools 5,000 litres or more in volume;
(e) cyanuric acid must be less than 50 grams per cubic metre;
(f) conductivity as a measure of total dissolved solids must be less than 100 microsiemens, except when sodium hypochlorite is used; and
(g) the bottom of the pool must be clearly visible when the pool is available for use.
16.6.9 You must keep adequate chemicals on your premises for maintaining the chemical standards specified above. You must also ensure that adequate testing equipment and testing chemicals are available on your premises to determine that the correct water quality is being maintained.
16.6.10 You must close any pool on your premises if its filtration system is not operating or if it does not meet all of the water quality standards specified above.
16.6.11 We may close any pool on your premises if its filtration system is not operating or if it does not meet all of the water quality standards specified above.
16.6.12 You must maintain records of free available chlorine levels, total chlorine levels, pH levels, alkalinity, chemical additions and water changes for every pool on your premises. The records must include all tests carried out on a pool within the preceding three months. You must ensure that the records are available for inspection by an Authorised Officer at any time when your premises are open.
16.6.13 You must test the free available chlorine levels of every pool on your premises at least twice a day, or more often if required by an Authorised Officer.
16.6.14 We may:
(a) Specify in your licence how often you must test pH, cyanuric acid and conductivity levels in any pool on your premises;
(b) Specify in your licence how often you must change the water in any pool on your premises; and
(c) Remove a reasonable amount of water from any pool on your premises for testing.
16.7 Exemptions
16.7.1 Where an Authorised Officer is satisfied that compliance with any requirement of this part of the Bylaw will be impractical or unreasonable having regard to your premises, we may grant a written exemption from the requirement. We may grant an exemption on such terms and conditions as we consider desirable in the interest of public health.