(Alexandria, Va.) — The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), the trade association representing the swimming pool, hot tub, and spa industry, has secured a significant advocacy win with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regarding enforcement of key requirements within the pool pump motor rule.

DOE has announced that it will delay enforcement of certain energy conservation and certification requirements for small-size dedicated-purpose pool pump motors (DPPPMs), providing meaningful near-term relief for manufacturers, distributors, and other industry stakeholders. Under this enforcement policy, DOE will not seek civil penalties for certain compliance and certification requirements until March 26, 2029, for motors manufactured between September 28, 2027, and March 26, 2029.

While the rule itself remains in effect, this enforcement relief allows the industry additional time to prepare for compliance while helping to avoid unnecessary disruption to the marketplace.

“This is a meaningful and practical outcome for the industry,” says Sabeena Hickman, CAE, President and CEO of PHTA. “PHTA worked directly with DOE to communicate the real-world challenges our members were facing, including product availability, manufacturing constraints, and conflicts with existing safety standards. This decision provides the time needed to align those factors and ensure a smoother path to compliance.”

The original DOE rule, finalized in September 2023, established staggered compliance deadlines, requiring standard-size motors (1.15 ≤ THP ≤ 5) to comply by September 2025 and small-size motors (0.5 ≤ THP < 1.15) by September 2027. DOE acknowledged at the time that limited product availability and manufacturing scale challenges would require additional lead time for smaller motors.

PHTA’s advocacy efforts emphasized not only those manufacturing constraints but also the need to address misalignment between DOE requirements and existing industry safety standards, including UL 1004-10, which is widely used across the industry but not yet fully harmonized with DOE’s regulations for small-size motors.

“This outcome reflects the value of targeted, data-driven advocacy,” says Justin Wiley. “By working collaboratively with DOE, we were able to highlight both the technical and market realities facing the industry. This additional time will help ensure manufacturers can scale production, align with safety standards, and bring compliant products to market without creating unnecessary supply disruptions.”

The enforcement delay will:

• Provide additional time for industry readiness and compliance planning
• Reduce the risk of product shortages and supply chain disruption
• Help address misalignment with existing safety standards
• Demonstrate the impact of effective industry advocacy

PHTA will continue to monitor developments related to the pool pump motor rule and provide guidance and resources to members as the industry prepares for full compliance.
For more information on PHTA’s advocacy efforts and updates on regulatory developments, please visit www.phta.org/advocacy.

About the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance:

The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), a non-profit organization with over 4,000 members from around the world, was established in 1956 to support, promote, and protect the common interests of the $62B pool, hot tub, and spa industry. PHTA provides education, advocacy, standards development, research, and market growth initiatives to increase our members’ professionalism, knowledge, and profitability. Additionally, PHTA promotes the use of pools by expanding swimming, water safety, and related research and outreach activities aimed at introducing more people to swimming, making swimming environments safer, and keeping pools open to serve communities. For more information, visit www.phta.org.

American National Standard for Water Quality in Public Pools and Hot Tubs/Spas

(Alexandria, Va.) – The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) and the International Code Council (ICC) are pleased to announce the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approval and publication of ANSI/PHTA/ICC-11 2026 American National Standard for Water Quality in Public Pools and Hot Tubs/Spas (PHTA-11).

The newly revised PHTA-11 standard provides recommended minimum guidelines for water quality in public pools and hot tubs/spas, intended to minimize health and safety hazards for bathers. This standard provides specifications for water quality parameters, but it does not specify the technologies needed to achieve these values. It is an essential set of specifications for public health officials as well as service and operations management companies.

“The PHTA-11 standard is a vital document for the industry—not just as a standalone guide, but because of its impact on other industry standards and codes,” says Sabeena Hickman, CAE, President & CEO of PHTA. “We are grateful to the PHTA-11 Standard Writing Committee members and other subject matter experts who ensured this document is accurate and comprehensive. We also appreciate our continued partnership with the ICC to align industry resources that protect pool and spa professionals as well as end users.”

The changes to the standard include a reorganization of content, most notably in Section 5 Parameters Impacting Disinfection and Public Health and in Section 6 Parameters Impacting Physical Properties of the Venue. Significant updates and clarification of scientific terms were made for the definitions for “contaminant,” “oocyst,” “protozoa,” and more.

“The ANSI/PHTA/ICC-11 standard provides necessary guidance to pool and spa operators to ensure that they are providing a safe and healthy water environment to pool and spa users of all ages,” says Lisa Reiheld, Director, PMG Technical Resources, ICC. “Additionally, it provides consistency from one facility to another and leaves the guesswork out of maintaining the pool water quality for both the operator and the health department that is overseeing the health of the community.”

This standard covers public swimming pools and hot tubs/spas. In this case, the term “public” includes pools and hot tubs/spas to be used for bathing and operated by an owner, licensee, or concessionaire, regardless of whether a fee is charged for use. More details about the classes of commercial/public swimming pools covered by this standard are included in the Definitions section. Pools designed for interaction with marine life are not covered.

Federal, state, local, and international authorities, as well as industry members and consumers, recognize the need for modern, up-to-date standards governing the design, construction, alteration, repair, and maintenance of swimming pools, spas, hot tubs, aquatic facilities, and other water-containment vessels. Part of the ANSI/PHTA standards development process includes regular review of existing standards to ensure this need is met.

The PHTA-11 standard applies to pool service companies, certifying bodies, pool designers, public health and building code officials, local municipalities, and pool and spa operators.

The new PHTA-11 standard is available to read here or purchase here. For more information, please visit the PHTA-11 webpage, email [email protected], or call (703) 838-0083.

About the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance
The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), a non-profit organization with 4,000 members from around the world, was established in 1956 to support, promote, and protect the common interests of the $62B pool, hot tub, and spa industry. PHTA provides education, advocacy, standards development, research, and market growth initiatives to increase our members’ professionalism, knowledge, and profitability. Additionally, PHTA promotes the use of pools by expanding swimming, water safety, and related research and outreach activities aimed at introducing more people to swimming, making swimming environments safer, and keeping pools open to serve communities. For more information, visit www.phta.org.

About the International Code Council
The International Code Council is the leading global source of model codes and standards and building safety solutions. ICC codes, standards and solutions are used to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable communities and buildings worldwide.

(Alexandria, Va.) – The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), the trade association representing the swimming pool, hot tub, and spa industry, welcomes public review and comments on revisions to the ANSI/APSP/ICC-11 2019 American National Standard for Water Quality in Public Pools and Spas. Public review is a fundamental part of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards consensus development process.

The PHTA/ICC-11 standard provides recommended minimum guidelines for the specifications for water quality parameters in the public swimming pool and spa industry. It covers a range of values relating to various chemicals that are acceptable for pool and spa operation, and for purposes of public health and safety.

The draft revision of the standard is now available during the 45-day public review. The public review draft can be found on the PHTA website and includes updates and revisions to the language used to standardize water quality in public swimming pools and spas. The PHTA-11 Standard Writing Committee also reorganized the order and placement of content, notably in Section 6 and Section 7, while keeping stated parameters the same. 

This standard applies to pool manufacturers, builders, designers, retailers, U.S. public health and code officials, local municipalities, pool and spa operators, and service companies, as well as consumers who use these types of pools and spas.

PHTA invites all pool, spa, and hot tub professionals, as well as non-industry members, to review the revisions and submit comments for consideration. The ANSI public review period for the PHTA-11 standard was published in the ANSI Standards Action newsletter on October 24, 2025. All public review comments are due by December 8, 2025.

For more information on the draft standard, please visit the PHTA-11 webpage, email [email protected], or call (703) 838-0083. 

About the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance

The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), a non-profit organization with over 4,000 members from around the world, was established in 1956 to support, promote, and protect the common interests of the $62B pool, hot tub, and spa industry. PHTA provides education, advocacy, standards development, research, and market growth initiatives to increase our members’ professionalism, knowledge, and profitability. Additionally, PHTA promotes the use of pools by expanding swimming, water safety, and related research and outreach activities aimed at introducing more people to swimming, making swimming environments safer, and keeping pools open to serve communities. For more information, visit www.phta.org.