The Government of Québec has amended the Regulation respecting water quality in swimming pools and other artificial pools. This regulatory amendment is authorized under paragraph 2 of section 46 of the Environment Quality Act, which empowers the government to set physical, chemical, and biological water quality standards tailored to different water uses across the province. Additionally, the Act respecting certain measures enabling the enforcement of environmental and dam safety legislation grants the authority to stipulate monetary administrative penalties for non-compliance, including how these penalties are applied and calculated, depending on the seriousness of any violations of these standards.

The specific amendments address water clarity requirements in swimming pools and artificial pools, reflecting an effort to ensure better visibility and therefore improve safety for swimmers. The amendment to section 7 of the Regulation respecting water quality in swimming pools and other artificial pools replaces its first paragraph with a new standard for pool water clarity. Under the revised wording, the water clarity must allow the black disc described in section 10.27 of the Construction Code—introduced by Order in Council 811-2025 on June 18, 2025—to be visible from any point on the pool deck. This provides a clear, objective method of evaluating water clarity using a standardized visual marker, promoting consistency with other building and safety regulations under the Construction Code.

Further language adjustments were made in the French version of the regulation to improve clarity and consistency in terminology. Specifically, in section 9, the French word “limpidité” in the water quality table was replaced with “clarté” to harmonize terminology with the revised section 7 and to align with the updated Construction Code language. Similarly, section 22.4 was amended in the French version to replace “limpidité” with “clarté” in paragraph 3, standardizing the use of the term across related provisions. These changes address potential confusion or inconsistencies in regulatory language, ensuring that the terminology applied to water clarity is both precise and harmonized with related codes and standards.

These amendments reflect the government’s commitment to maintaining and improving public safety in recreational water environments, aligning water quality regulations with updated construction and safety codes, and ensuring that language used across related legislation is consistent and easy to interpret.

Through this regulation, the Government of Québec aims to demonstrate its proactive stance on protecting users of swimming pools and artificial pools, while providing pool operators with concrete, measurable standards to guide water quality maintenance practices in accordance with broader environmental and public health priorities.

Quebec (814/2025) July 4, 2025
Disclaimer: Insights are for informational purposes only and do not reflect RRI’s official position or constitute legal opinion.