What
What is a Collector Tank?
Commercial pools and spas must have a recirculation system for cleaning and sanitizing the water. This is a system of piping and mechanics that is designed to remove the water from the pool/spa and then filter it, disinfect it, and return it to the pool/spa. The number of times the water must be recirculated per day is dependent upon the size and water capacity of the individual pool/spa.
Direct suction is when the recirculation pump pulls the water directly from the swimming pool through the drain outlet with nothing to stop or slow down the force of the water. This can cause a powerful suction to occur at the drain outlet. This suction can be so strong that it can trap and hold anyone near the drain when the recirculation process is occurring.
Gravity Drainage is a circulation system where the water flowing from the pool/spa does not connect directly to the pump. A Gravity Drainage System (GDS) works on the principle that a properly sized and located tank installed between the pool and the pump can limit the amount of suction created when the main drain is blocked. The suction line to the pump is connected to the collector tank, not to the main drain. Water flows from the main drain in the pool to the collector tank by gravity, and from the collector tank to the pump by pump-caused suction. With this recirculation system, the main drain is not a source of pump-caused suction.
All Florida swimming pools and spas are required to replace the existing main drain grate/cover. Florida’s newer public pools (since 1977), and spas (since 1993), that were built with gravity drainage to a collector tank would only need to replace the main drain grate/cover to comply with the Act. Some older spas were built with suction-limiting vent system with a tamper-resistant atmospheric opening. These facilities, also, will only need to replace the main drain grate/cover to be in compliance with the Federal Act. The older direct suction pools and spas will need to replace the main drain grate/cover and provide a gravity drainage system with a collector tank to be in compliance with the Florida Law.