Recreational Water Facilities

The Health Department strives to ensure that recreational water facilities in Putnam County are operated and maintained in a way that promotes optimum public safety for our community members.

According to WV Code of State Rule Rules §64-16, a recreational water facility is defined as:

A body of water, under the control of a person, that has been modified, improved, constructed or installed for the purpose of public swimming or bathing. It includes, but is not limited to:

bathing beaches; swimming, wading, and diving pools; water slides, spray pools, lazy rivers, wave pools; spas, hot tubs, therapeutic pools, hydrotherapy pools, and whirlpools; facilities operated by communities, subdivisions, apartment complexes, condominiums, clubs, camps, schools, institutions, parks, mobile home parks, hotels, and similar recreational and public facilities.

A recreational water facility does not include a private residential swimming pool as defined in this rule.

Highlighted Requirements to Operate in Putnam County

• Recreational water facilities must maintain a permit to operate, granted by the Health Department. If you need to submit a permit application for a pre-existing facility, click here. Note: If you are constructing a new public recreational water facility, you will need to work with the WV DHHR’s Environmental Engineering Office to apply for permitting and to submit design plans for review.
• Recreational water facilities must have a Qualified Water Facility Operator on staff. A Qualified Water Operator is an individual that has a current Certified Pool Operator (CPO) certification or has attended one of the other Operator Training Courses approved by the state of West Virginia. Course information is available on the WV DHHR’s website here.
• Operators are required to submit a weekly operations report to the Health Department.

Additional Resources for Operators

• Download the Recreation Water Facility Tables
• Test Kit Requirements: Equipment used for testing free or total chlorine shall use the DPD (N, N-Diethyl-P-Phenylenediamine) method. Test strips or Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) may be used as a measuring parameter but shall not be used when registering required readings on daily operational reports required by the Director.

More information on recreational water facilities is available on the WV DHHR’s website here.

If you have any complaints you would like us to investigate, please fill out this form. You can also email or call us.