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Business & Tech

Local Swimming Pools Told to Close Indefinitely

The Illinois Department of Public Health shut down hundreds of pools this week for failure to comply with drain cover regulations—including one in Evergreen Park that closed for good last year.

Pools at the Evergreen Aqua Park and Beverly Country Club were notified this week to close after the Illinois Department of Public Health found them in violation of state drain cover regulations.

Oak Forest Patch Editor Lauren Traut reported Wednesday that that they would be closed if they failed to meet federal safety requirements by Oct. 1.

The federal requirements come from the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act—a 2007 law named after the 7-year-old girl who drowned nine years ago when a hot tub suctioned her to its bottom.

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Roughly 85 percent of all licensed swimming facilities in Illinois complied by the October deadline, but approximately 500 municipal, park district, school and hotel pools were still not up to code as of Monday, according to a statement from IDPH.

Although Evergreen Aqua Park foreclosed last year, it joins a list of non-compliant facilities which includes 145 pools in Chicago and 186 in suburban Cook County.

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A manager at the privately-owned Beverly Country Club did not return a message seeking comment.

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