Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC) Technical Committees

Technical committees have been established to provide specialized knowledge regarding specific areas of the MAHC content. Initial efforts are focused on preventing injuries and reducing the spread of recreational water illnesses (RWIs) at disinfected aquatic facilities. All Technical Committees are staffed at this time. Input can still be given on MAHC modules as part of the two 60-day public comment periods included for each MAHC module.

Purpose

Each technical committee examines existing technologies and methodologies in the appropriate jurisdictions of their respective committees. The technical committees determine the scientific basis, if any, for existing recommendations and criteria; identify scientific information gaps; and outline data that are needed to support future science-based revisions. The final product will be a performance-based Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC) that is national in scope, data driven, and achieves consensus using the best available science and engineering practices.

Interaction and Governance

It is recognized that technical committees may overlap on certain issues. The Steering Committee will determine which committee has primary responsibility for the overlap area. Committees serving in a secondary role may contribute thoughts and ideas on the focus area, but the overlap areas should be a secondary part of the committee activities. The committee serving as lead will ensure regular communication between all committees having an overlap area. For example, the Disinfection & Water Quality Committee will be primarily responsibility for looking at disinfection methodologies. However, disinfectant and pH levels are important secondary considerations for other committees such as Monitoring & Testing, Filtration & Recirculation, and Contamination Burden. These committees must be in regular communication with the lead Committee, Disinfection & Water Quality Committee. The MAHC Coordinator and the Steering Committee Liaisons will also ensure appropriate communication between committees to help avoid unnecessary effort and/or duplications. The MAHC Strawman [PDF - 14 pages] includes markers delineating the integration points for each technical committee.