Existing law provides for the regulation of recreational water use, as specified, including, but not limited to, swimming pools and wave pools. Existing law establishes applicable construction and sanitation standards for public swimming pools, and standards pertaining to their operation, maintenance, and use. Existing law, the Permanent Amusement Ride Safety Inspection Program, provides for a state system for the inspection of permanent amusement rides, as defined.

This bill would subject a wave basin, defined as an artificially constructed body of water within an impervious water containment structure incorporating the use of a mechanical device principally designed to generate waves for surfing on a surfboard or analogous surfing device commonly used in the ocean and intended for sport, to regulation as a permanent amusement ride under the Permanent Amusement Ride Safety Inspection Program. The bill would require the State Department of Public Health to adopt regulations that may consider the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance and that may be modeled upon the sanitation and safety regulations for swimming pools, but shall consider the unique characteristics of a wave basin, including the volume of water, chemical dispersion caused by wave action, and the size of a typical wave basin. The bill would authorize a local health officer to enforce the wave basin sanitation and safety regulations adopted by the department in their jurisdiction.