Pool safety is under renewed scrutiny after two recent incidents occurred at condominiums in the Greater Toronto Area, one involving a chemical mishap and the other a fatal drowning.
In January, eight people were sent to the hospital with minor injuries from noxious odours at a three-tower condo complex in North York. The culprit was attributed to pool cleaning supplies in the pool maintenance area. Last summer, Toronto police confirmed a man who didn’t know how to swim had drowned in the deep end of a condo pool in Scarborough.
Although such events seem to be uncommon in condos due to enhanced technology and strict regulation laws that govern these amenities, the true scope of risk is difficult to measure. Many incidents, particularly near-misses, go unreported. Some industry members say artificial intelligence (AI) could serve as an additional safety tool and also help property managers oversee pool maintenance tasks.
Richard Webster, operations manager and senior pool tech at H2O Amenity Group, a provider of amenity management solutions for condominiums, hotels, and commercial properties in Ottawa, explains that while AI cannot physically save a life, it can monitor conditions in real time to help prevent hazards.
“AI never rests, never looks at its phone, and never gets distracted,” says Webster.
He envisions the near future where a pool quietly monitors itself, where headcounts are logged automatically, incidents are timestamped the moment they occur, daily checklists are completed through verified activity, and alerts surface only when something requires attention.
This kind of system is no longer theoretical. Along with the company’s CEO, Justin Dyer, who is also a professional condo manager, Webster is part of a team developing a proprietary AI platform. The system can be layered onto existing camera infrastructure without requiring a complete hardware replacement, and it can be configured to send instant alerts. It is designed to detect drowning, monitor activity in real time, and generate data-driven insights for pools, aquatic facilities, and shorelines where traditional surveillance falls short.
Even in supervised settings, the consequences can be serious. At large Class A facilities, such as water parks with sprawling pools and lazy rivers, incidents can go unnoticed. Lifeguards, despite their training, remain vulnerable to human error. Statistics from the World Health Organization indicate that at least 1,000 people drown in waterparks every year worldwide, while in the United States, around 10 fatalities happen annually—most involving children.
Across all water-related activities in Canada, the LifeSaving Society reports an average of 442 deaths occur annually. Non-fatal drownings happen far more frequently, with 5,684 emergency department visits reported in Ontario last year alone. Most fatalities occur in lakes and ponds, while an estimated 90 per cent of pool-related deaths happen in private pools. Few incidents take place in lifeguard-supervised settings.
However, the majority of condo pools are unsupervised. AI could send an alert to the condo manager, superintendent, and security concierge staff all at once, increasing the positive response outcomes.
A new wave emerges
This is the next wave in the evolution of pool technology. Many widely-used tools—from variable-speed pumps and salt pouring generators to automated sensors and computer-controlled chemical dosing—maintain water flow, balance and chemical sanitation levels. At one point in time, these were all novel advancements in the industry.
As large operators begin to adopt AI, and as it’s successfully applied to high-stakes situations, Webster believes it will eventually trickle down into smaller Class B facilities like condominiums, where it will not only address safety but simplify a property manager’s day-to-day responsibilities.
“It might help save lives by notifying building staff of an event, but I think what we’ll most likely see are applications around slips-and-falls,” he predicts. “For a condo manager, that’s the biggest concern, as it opens them up to lawsuits. If someone slips and falls, AI can’t magically prevent that from happening, but it could observe wet spots on the floor and notify maintenance of a potential spot.”
AI could also track and immediately record slip-and-falls into a report, while monitoring headcounts in a swimming zone or on the pool deck. Maintenance routines would also be less cumbersome.
“What if reports were created in real time, where, at the end of your shift, you could see the swimming pool was vacuumed at 11 a.m., or that tests were all completed? If no one tested the water in four hours, it would flag that and send out a notice to the manager.”
The technology also could spot changes in water colour, such as the green tinge of an algae bloom, much quicker than a human. As well, an AI system could learn to recognize pool chemicals and immediately warn of potential mishaps, such as incompatible substances being stored too close together. The system could also be individualized to suit unique needs of a condominium.
“I talk to condo managers who are still running their pools the same way they did fifteen or twenty years ago,” says Dyer. “Insurance premiums are up, the lifeguard labour market is brutal, and the facilities are older. AI monitoring gives you another set of eyes on the water. It works with your staff, not instead of them, and it catches things faster than any one person can on a twelve-hour shift.”
About 80 per cent of the pools that H2O Amenity Group oversees are guarded. The greater concern lies in unguarded pools, where concerns are often tied to liability. In that case, due diligence is key, and the ability to quickly scope through automated detailed records is significant.
“The pool is probably the single highest-liability amenity in any condo building, and most boards don’t budget for it that way,” says Dyer. “They’ll spend on chemicals and mechanical, but the safety side gets treated like an afterthought until something goes wrong. By then you’re dealing with lawyers, not line items.”
Legal obligations for operating condo pools
It’s a property manager’s job to designate someone to maintain the pool, but it’s also important for them to understand the legalities of this amenity.
According to Ottawa-based condo lawyers Nancy Houle and James Davidson of Davidson Houle Allen LLP., there are numerous obligations that apply to condo corporations operating pools.
If the condominium contains six or more units, the pool qualifies as a “Class B Public Pool” under Regulation 565 of Ontario’s Health Protection and Promotion Act. This legislation contains a lengthy list of responsibilities that apply to the owner and operator of a Class B pool.
More generally, they say, the condominium corporation must ensure (as occupier under the Occupiers Liability Act, and per Section 26 of the Condominium Act) that the pool and related features are maintained and operated in a reasonably safe condition at all times.
As well, there are specific physical requirements that must be met under the Building Code. For instance, lockable doors and other barriers must be present to prevent public access to the pool. Also, features to allow for installation of a buoy line (between shallow and deep water) are required in some cases.
“Many condo corporations hire pool maintenance firms to assist with fulfillment of the various requirements,” says Houle. “This is an excellent idea because it allows the condominium corporation to rely upon, and benefit from, the experience and expertise of the pool maintenance firm.”
Yet another issue is the obligation under the Human Rights Code to accommodate any needs of residents with disabilities so they can access the pool. Most of the complaints the law firm deals with pertain to human rights issues, such as the inability to properly access the pool and complaints about “adults only hours,” particularly for lap or lane swimming.
Another issue relates to having an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in a pool area. “This question arises for many condominium corporations simply because sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in aquatic settings,” says Houle. “An AED is not mandatory for Class B pools; but they are still often considered because of their added life-saving potential.”
“Ontario Regulation 565 is massive and outlines everything that has to be followed for pools,” notes Webster. “If you’re out of sync with any of this stuff, they can shut down your pool quickly. A good manager should know how pools work, what systems are in place, and the regulations and safety requirements.”
Tools that automate oversight can help managers keep pace with these demands and reduce the risk of something being missed.
“Property managers are responsible for dozens of contractor relationships, and the pool is one of the hardest to oversee because you can’t always be on-site when the work is being done,” says Dyer. “Residents notice when it’s not done right, and the complaints land on the manager’s desk, not the contractor’s. With AI-assisted monitoring, you’ve got a record. You can see activity, you can confirm service was performed, and you’ve got something to point to when a contractor says the work was completed and a resident says it wasn’t. That changes the conversation entirely.”
