Texas Public Pool Chemical Log Requirements (25 TAC 265)

This is a practical overview, not legal advice. The rules are in Texas Administrative Code Title 25, Chapter 265 (Public Swimming Pools and Spas), and local health departments enforce them and can add their own requirements. Check the current rule text and your local health department before relying on any figure here.

Which pools this covers

Chapter 265 covers public and semi-public pools and spas: apartment complexes, HOA and community pools, hotels, gyms, schools and similar. A private backyard pool at a single-family home is not a public pool. If you service any of the regulated kind, chemical records are part of the job.

Chemical levels commonly checked

Reading	Range commonly cited for Texas public pools
Free chlorine	1.0 to 8.0 ppm
pH	7.0 to 7.8
Cyanuric acid (stabilizer)	No more than 100 ppm; not allowed in indoor pools and spas

Where stabilizer is used, the rule calls for testing cyanuric acid weekly and recording it in the pool log. If CYA goes over the limit, the rule requires raising free chlorine and recording chlorine, pH and CYA at least daily until it is back under.

What a good log entry contains

Date and time of the test, and who tested
Free chlorine, pH and, where used, cyanuric acid; alkalinity and calcium hardness as tested
Every chemical added: product, amount and how it was fed
Any corrective action taken when a reading was out of range

How long to keep records

Local requirements vary. The City of Arlington's pool log form, for example, says readings must be kept on file for no less than two years, and some guides cite longer periods. Keep them at least as long as your local health department requires; keeping them longer costs nothing and can protect you in a dispute.

Making it painless on a route

The hard part is not knowing the rules. It is getting every reading written down, legibly, at every visit, and producing the history on the day an inspector or property manager asks. RouteSplash records each reading with the time, the tech and GPS location, flags anything outside the Texas ranges the moment it is entered, keeps every entry permanent (corrections are added as new entries, never overwritten), and exports an inspection-ready compliance report for any pool and date range.

Sources: 25 Tex. Admin. Code § 265.193 (water quality) and City of Arlington sample pool log.

Questions

Do residential pools in Texas need chemical logs?

Chapter 265 applies to public and semi-public pools such as apartments, HOAs and hotels, not to a private pool at a single-family home. Keeping logs for residential customers is still good practice.

What is the CYA limit for Texas public pools?

Cyanuric acid must not exceed 100 ppm, and stabilizer is not allowed in indoor pools and spas. Where CYA is used it is tested weekly and recorded in the log.

How long must Texas pool chemical records be kept?

It depends on the local health department. For example, the City of Arlington pool log form says at least two years. Check your local requirement and keep records at least that long.

Texas public pool chemical log requirements

Key points