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Senate approves bill easing color/clarity rules for geothermal pools while keeping bacteriological safeguards
Summary
The Utah Senate passed Senate Bill 163 to treat geothermal pools differently from conventional swimming pools, preserving bacteriological safety standards but preventing mineral color, dissolved solids and deposit issues from automatically triggering closures. Supporters said the change resolves inconsistent enforcement; opponents warned of public-health risks and special exemptions.
Senator Madsen pushed the Senate to adopt Senate Bill 163, saying the measure recognizes the technical differences between geothermal pools and conventional swimming pools and prevents subjective clarity or color tests from being used to close facilities that rely on mineral water.
“The water that comes out of the ground … the color of the water, the dissolved solids and the deposits are not to be regulated like a swimming pool,” Senator Madsen said, explaining the bill’s intent to preserve bacteriological standards while excluding naturally occurring mineral characteristics from enforcement triggers.
The bill creates a statutory definition of geothermal pools, clarifies which water-quality metrics…
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