School districts in Summit County are rushing to comply with new federal safety guidelines that require pool operators upgrade their equipment in the wake of several children’s deaths.

Swimming pools and hot tubs across the nation are undergoing expensive retrofits to comply with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, South Summit Aquatic and Fitness Center Director Steve Sutherland said.

“This one, for us, is a little tough,” Sutherland said.

The pool he manages in Kamas is a Myrtha pool for which parts have not been developed for upgrading equipment to meet stricter safety rules, Sutherland said.

Most pools are made from plaster, which makes rarer, vinyl Myrtha pools more difficult to retrofit, he explained.

Flat drain covers will be replaced by grates that are bubble-shaped, which make it more difficult for things to get stuck in them.

“Myrtha is trying to get those fabricated. As soon as they’re done, they will be installed in our pool,” Sutherland said. “We’re the only Myrtha pool in the county that I’m aware of.”

Congress enacted the tougher guidelines in response to the death U.S. Secretary of State James Baker III’s 7-year-old granddaughter.

The pool at Ecker Hill Aquatic Center in the Snyderville Basin already complies with the new rules, Ecker Hill Aquatic Center Director Todd Klarich said.

“We are budgeting money just for studies to triple check we are in compliance,” Klarich said in a telephone interview. “As far as the Summit County Health Department is concerned, we’re in compliance.”

But some drain covers may still be replaced at the Pinebrook pool, he said.

“As we speak, they are coming out with new drain covers to prevent this Very rarely do we hear of these accidents, and it probably is because of the Virginia Graeme Baker act,” Klarich said.

This type of accident has never occurred at Ecker Hill, he stressed.

“A lot of it, in my opinion, is at older pools,” Klarich said.

The North Summit School District is working with health officials to comply with the new law, Superintendent Steve Carlsen said.

There are about 150 aquatics facilities at hotels, health clubs, schools and condo complexes in Summit County that need to upgrade pools and spas, Dixon said, adding pools must comply by July 1.

Installing the anti-entrapment systems could cost more than $10,000 for some pools, Dixon said.