Proposed draft — not law
PROPOSED draft language under legal review — not enacted law, not a filed bill — Illinois only.
The Devices
Certified water-quality testing devices replace manual test strips.
In plain language
Today, water safety at most Illinois pools depends on a staff member dipping a test strip a few times a day. Between tests, chlorine and pH can drift with heat, rain, and crowds — and nobody knows until the next reading.
The draft defines a Water Quality Testing Device (WQTD): an electronic device that continuously monitors and records water chemistry and flow, and can transmit both real-time and historical operational data. After May 1, 2030, anyone seeking a license to open or operate a swimming facility in Illinois would need to install a Department-approved WQTD, registered with the Department and compatible with an approved monitoring service.
The device tier is the foundation the rest of the bill stands on: every downstream requirement — the data pipeline, the retention rules, the electronic inspections — begins at a certified instrument rather than a handwritten log.
What the July 2026 draft already covers
Both pieces of this theme are the base draft's work: the §3.25 WQTD definition and the §11.1 installation requirement for licenses after May 1, 2030.
What Pure Water Ops adds
Nothing on this theme — Pure Water Ops made no changes to these sections. They are presented here because the redline builds on them.
What it means
For operators
A predictable equipment standard instead of ad-hoc test logs. The requirement applies to Department-approved devices, so operators buy against a published approval list rather than guessing.
For regulators
Every licensed facility has a registered, certified sensing device on file — data provenance starts at a known instrument with a known owner.
For the public
Water chemistry is checked continuously, not twice a day. Problems surface in minutes instead of at the next manual test.