How do we maintain an HOA splash pad and keep the water safe?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 24, 2026

How an HOA board runs a splash pad: which state rules apply in TX, FL and CO, daily water tests, UV or other Crypto treatment, required signs, and closing it safely.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

A splash pad looks simpler than a pool and is harder to keep clean. There is no standing water to see, so nobody notices when the chlorine drops, and toddlers in swim diapers are the main users. Treat it as a regulated aquatic facility unless your health department tells you in writing that it is not. That means a certified operator, water tests at least once a day with a written log, a second treatment step aimed at Cryptosporidium if the water recirculates, the signs your state requires, and a written rule for when the pad shuts off. If the pad runs on plain drinking water that goes straight to the drain, most of the water chemistry rules fall away, but sanitation and closure rules usually do not. Rules vary by state, county and city, and by your own governing documents, so use this as a checklist to take to your regulator and service company, not as legal advice.

Find out which rules cover your pad

Texas is the clearest. The state calls a splash pad a public interactive water feature and fountain, and the operating rules sit in 25 TAC chapter 265, subchapter M, not in the pool subchapter. Section 265.302 says the definition includes features open only to members of an organization or to residents of a residential real estate development, which is a plain description of an HOA amenity. A pad at a single-family home or duplex is excluded. Section 265.301(b)(2) exempts a pad supplied entirely by drinking water that is not recirculated from the sign, record, circulation and water quality sections, though the rest still applies. Health and Safety Code 341.0695 lets counties and cities require permits and inspections and charge fees, so call both. Florida's statute counts pools serving subdivisions as public pools (514.011), and rule chapter 64E-9 has specific limits for interactive water features. Section 514.0115(3) exempts HOA pools serving 32 or fewer units or parcels, except for water quality supervision and anti-entrapment rules, but it speaks of pools, so ask the county health department in writing whether your pad falls under the exemption. Colorado's rule, 5 CCR 1003-5, calls a feature where water is sprayed but does not pond a spray pool and counts it as a pool. Ask the county health agency whether your pad is treated as semi-public or as a private pool for residents. Write down the answer, the name of the person who gave it and the date.

Why the water needs more than chlorine

CDC's 2024 surveillance report counted 60 outbreaks linked to splash pads in the United States from 1997 through 2022, with 10,611 cases. Cryptosporidium was confirmed in 40 of them, and those 40 accounted for about 91 percent of the cases. The parasite survives for more than seven days in properly chlorinated water, according to CDC's splash pad safety page, and spraying water through the air also burns off chlorine faster than a still pool does. That is why the rules push recirculating pads toward a second treatment step. Texas section 265.306 requires one of these: ultraviolet treatment after filtration, ozone, another NSF-50 process, or weekly hyperchlorination. A UV unit must deliver at least 40 mJ/cm2 and be third-party validated for a 3-log reduction. Stand-alone pads built before May 1, 2010 may instead test for Crypto every 14 days. In Florida, rule 64E-9.008 sets the interactive feature design standards, including automatic chemical controllers, a 30-minute turnover and a ban on stabilized chlorine tablets in these features. If your pad was built without a second treatment step, get a price for a UV retrofit before the next season and put the lamp and sensor on the reserve schedule.

Daily tests and the log

Texas requires the operator to hold a certification such as Certified Pool Operator or Aquatic Facility Operator and show proof at inspection (265.303). Free chlorine must stay between 1.0 and 8.0 ppm, with 3.0 to 5.0 as the ideal range, and pH between 7.0 and 7.8. Outdoors, cyanuric acid tops out at 50 ppm. Test disinfectant and pH once a day if the pad has automatic controllers and twice a day without them, before opening and again midday, and test cyanuric acid every seven days. Keep records for two years. Florida rule 64E-9.004 sets free chlorine at 2 to 10 mg/L for interactive water fountains, pH at 7.0 to 7.8, and requires a manual test at least once every 24 hours recorded on form DH 921. Colorado's general pool rule calls for disinfectant, pH and ORP readings three times a day at public and semi-public pools, at least one taken by hand. A one-visit-a-week service contract cannot meet any of these on its own. Either pay for daily visits or train two volunteers to run the test kit and enter the readings, with the certified operator reviewing the log each week. Put a laminated card in the equipment room with the ranges and the phone number to call when a reading is out.

Signs and the rules you post

Texas section 265.303(d) requires five messages in letters at least 2 inches tall: no animals other than service animals, no diaper changing within 6 feet of the pad, no use by anyone ill with a contagious disease, do not drink the water, and no use by anyone who has had diarrhea. A pad with no operator on site also needs a sign with a phone number to report problems. Even where the law is silent, post these. CDC's splash pad guidance adds practical rules worth copying, such as checking diapers every hour and not sitting or standing on the jets. Wording you can adapt: 'Splash pad open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. No pets. Do not drink the water. Do not use the splash pad if you or your child has diarrhea. Change diapers only in the restroom, never within 6 feet of the pad. Check diapers every hour. Do not sit or stand on the jets. To report a problem, call [number].' Do not let a swim diaper rule stand in for the rest. CDC notes that swim diapers do not keep germs, poop or pee out of the water.

When to shut it off

Write the closing rule before you need it and give the shutoff key or controller code to every volunteer who checks the pad. Close when free chlorine or pH is outside the legal range, when the controller or UV unit fails, when a gate or drain grate is broken, and after any fecal incident. Texas section 265.308 defines closed as a posted sign plus the water turned off, and a positive Crypto test closes the pad until it has been hyperchlorinated using the CDC protocol and the work is documented. The regulator must be notified. Florida rule 64E-9.004(12) points operators to CDC's fecal incident guidance. A notice paragraph for owners: 'The splash pad is closed today for water treatment after a contamination report. It will reopen once the water is retested and meets state standards, which we expect by [date]. Thank you for keeping sick children home and using swim diapers.' Send it the same day, and log the time of closing, the treatment done and the retest results.

A season calendar

Six weeks before opening: confirm the permit or written exemption, the operator's certificate, and the service contract terms for visit frequency and logs. Four weeks out: the service company starts the pumps, checks the controller probes, replaces the UV lamp if it is at its rated hours, and confirms the backflow device has a current test. Texas section 265.304 requires a reduced-pressure-principle backflow preventer or an air gap on the potable water supply. Two weeks out: hang the signs, test the emergency shutoff, and post the hours. Opening week: test twice a day even if you have controllers, so the volunteers learn the routine. Every week: the operator reviews the log, checks the cyanuric acid, and walks the surface for cracks, loose grates and slick spots. Closing: drain the tank, clean it, and follow the manufacturer's winterization steps for the pumps, lines and nozzles. Put pumps, the controller, the UV unit and the surface coating on the reserve study with their expected lives.

Mistakes boards make

Assuming the pad is unregulated because it has no standing water. Buying a recirculating system with no second treatment step to save a few thousand dollars. Using stabilized chlorine tablets because they are what the pool uses, which Florida bans in these features and which build cyanuric acid past the Texas limit. Letting the service company visit twice a week while nobody tests on the other five days. Leaving the pad running after a diaper accident because nobody had authority to shut it off. Keeping the logs on one volunteer's phone. If your community also has a pool, our guide on how to open an HOA pool for the season covers the operator and drain cover questions, and our guide on what to do when the health department closes the HOA pool walks through a closure order.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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