Campgrounds and Parks

.The Ashtabula County Health Department conducts a Park/Campground Program which is state mandated under the Ohio Revised Code Section 3733. The rules for this program are prescribed under the Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3701-25. 

Click the following link for more information. 

Recreational Vehicle Parks Definitions

Inspections and fees:

• Camps 50 or less – $270.00
• Camps 51 or more lots – $270.00
• Camps each lot in excess of 50 – $1.00
• Camps Late Fee 50 or less – $310.00
• Camps Late Fee  51 or more – 25% of local fee

Inspections of these locations must be conducted at least once per year and are

typically concerned with sanitary facilities, water protection, solid waste disposal, lot size, spacing, fire protection, safety, and nuisance abatement. Licenses for these

locations are valid until May 1st of each year. The license fee is determined by the number of sites in the park.

Inspections and Fees for Temporary Camp/Park

Plans should be submitted to the Health Department at least fifteen days prior to the

event. These sites should be licensed at least seven days prior to the event.

Fees - $90.00

These inspections address similar concerns as in the other sites described above and

are conducted before the season begins and then again during the season as necessary.

Temporary Campground Facts and Guideline

Recreational Vehicle Parks Definitions

•  A “recreational vehicle park” is defined as a tract of land used for parking five or more

 self contained recreational vehicles. These vehicles can operate independent of

 connections to sewer and water and have plumbing fixtures or appliances that are

 connected to sewage holding tanks located within the vehicle.

•  A “temporary park-camp” is defined as a tract of land used for a period not to exceed a

 total of twenty-one days per calendar year for the purpose of parking five, but not more

 than seventy-five, recreational vehicles, dependent recreational vehicles, or portable

 camping unit, or any combination thereof, for one or more periods of time that do not

 exceed seven consecutive days.

•  A “recreation camp” is defined as a tract of land upon which five or more portable

 camping units are placed. These units include dependent recreational vehicles, tents, and

 portable sleeping equipment used for travel, recreation, or vacation purposes.

•  A “combined park-camp” is defined as any tract of land used for parking five or more self

 contained recreational vehicles or portable camping units that are used for recreation or

 vacation purposes.

If you wish to file a complaint regarding a manufactured home park:

Please Call 614-644-2223, option 4

or go to

Certified MH Inspection Agencies | Ohio Department of Commerce

Ashtabula County Health Department does not conduct any construction inspections

on newly placed manufactured homes either inside or outside of manufactured home parks.

Manufactured Home Parks or contractors in need of those types of inspections must

hire certified private manufactured home park installers. They should contact the

Central Investigation Bureau located in Youngstown, OH at  800-437-0932 to hire a

certified manufactured home park installer.

The Ashtabula County Health Department conducts a swimming pool program  under the authority of the Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3749.  All pools are required to meet the minimum requirements of the Ohio Public Swimming Pool, Spa, and Special Use Pool Rules. 

A license is required for any pool or spa serving four families or more, which  includes apartments, hotels, condominiums, homeowner associations, health  clubs, as well as municipal facilities. The Health Department sends out license applications for all previously licensed pools and spas during the first week of  April.  

The current license fees are as follows: 

Swimming Pool    FEE – $280.00   Pool LATE FEE – $330.00  

Spa  FEE – $240.00    Spa LATE FEE – $280.00  

Special Use Pools   FEE – $280.00    Special Use Pool  LATE FEE  $330.00  

The swimming pool program is concerned with the overall safety and health of  bathers as it relates to the operation of the facility. This includes assurance of water  quality, maintenance of filtration and circulation equipment, the presence of  necessary safety equipment and warning signs, life guarding requirements, record keeping, and overall facility operation. Some requirements relative to the design of  a pool or spa will be dependent upon the date of construction. All operations are  required to keep records of water quality testing results and accidents on a uniform  weekly operation report. An attached rules synopsis may be helpful in exploring specific items in the rules. 

Complete the Ohio Public Swimming Pool and Spa Injury Incident Report Form (ONLINE) 

Download the Weekly Pool Data Sheet Below

Swimming Pool Plan Approval 

Anyone initiating certain renovations to an existing pool or spa or the construction of  a new pool or spa is required to submit plans or a notification report to the Ohio  Department of Health for approval. The requirements fall into two categories.  The first involves one of the following changes:

1. Replacement of a disinfectant feeding device with one of different method of  delivery, capacity, or reagent.  
2. Replacement of a filter with that of a different media or capacity.  
3. Replacement of a pump with a different horsepower or flow rate.  
4. 
   

Either of these changes is referred to as an “equipment replacement”. Approval must  be obtained by submitting an equipment replacement form.  Another activity that requires state approval is a substantial alteration to the pool  environment.   Any of the following changes would qualify for a substantial alteration  and require that plans be submitted to the Ohio Department of Health:  

1. Construction that changes the depth, shape, or other basic design of the pool in  a manner that affects pool patron safety or recirculation, system design,  changes or replaces a deck, changes the basic design of a diving board, or adds a  specific feature such as a slide.  
2. Complete replacement of the recirculation system.
3. Changes to a diving board.4
4. Replacement of all return piping or skimmer piping.  
5. Replacement of more than 50% of a gutter system or the total number of inlets  and outlets.  

For further detailed information on these requirements, you may contact the Ohio Department of Health directly at 614-644-5597.  

Two specific issues may be of concern to both the public and pool operators. The first  deals with the potential of disease transmission in the pool and spa environment. The  Board of Health has specifically addressed this issue in a section titled “Swimming  Pool Disease Management”.

The other issue concerns the potential entrapment/disembowelment hazard  associated with main drain suction. This was addressed in recent changes to the  Swimming Pool Rules in 1999.   More information on this topic can be found in a fact  sheet titled “Main Drain Suction Hazards”.

Another great resource in the area of pool water quality to safety is the Centers for  Communicable Disease and Prevention. The “healthy swimming” pages of their  website include downloadable brochures and posters, as well as a wealth of  information regarding swimming health issues.  

Public Bathing Beaches 

Public Beach Reports 

A public bathing beach is defined as “an impounding reservoir, basin, lake, pond,  creek, river, or other similar natural body of water which is intended to be used by  the general public for bathing, whether or not a fee is charged”. 

License Fees / Inspections 

All bathing beach operators are required to obtain an annual permit to operate a  bathing beach.  Permit fees are due by May 31st each year and is valid for 1 year.  The permit is a certificate issued by the Board of Health that gives written  authorization to operate a bathing beach.  The permit fee is as follows:  

Public Bathing Beach                      $50.00  

The permit allows for the beaches to be inspected by the Health Department during  the recreational season to identify any safety, sanitation, or water quality concerns.   Written inspections are provided to the beach operators for corrections to be made, if  necessary.  Water Quality Sampling Public beaches on Lake Erie are tested weekly by the Ohio Department of Health.  Inland lakes and private beaches are not tested by the Ohio Department of Health nor  the Ashtabula County Health Department.  Operators of beaches on inland lakes and  operators of non-public beaches may contract with private environmental wastewater testing companies to collect beach water samples and have the water samples tested  for bacteriological water quality.   

*For more information on private environmental wastewater testing companies that  collect and test beach samples for bacteriological water purity, contact the Ashtabula  County Health Department at (440) 576-6010 option 3.  

Reasons for High Bacterial Levels 

High bacterial levels can mainly be attributed to heavy rainfall events.   The potential  for bacterial contamination is the greatest during the first day following a rain event  and swimming is not recommended for one to two days after the rain event.   In other  cases, however, the cause of high bacterial levels is not readily apparent. In these  instances, the Health Department attempts to identify the cause and suggests potential solutions. 

Some bodies of water are inherently subject to high bacterial levels due to their  location or source of water. For example, inland lakes that receive their water solely from rain are subject to high surface runoff concentrations. Surface runoff is likely to  contain contamination. In these cases, there would typically be no other water  source available to dilute the concentration of the surface runoff or to move it out of  the beach area.  

Risk of Illness

When swimming or conducting other water activities during period of high bacterial  levels, the risk of becoming ill from contamination increases. Children, the elderly,  and individuals with weakened immune systems are the most at risk.   Flu-like  symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fever, and dehydration can occur  from exposure to contaminated water. Upper respiratory illnesses, such as ear, nose,  and throat infections, may also occur in addition to skin infections if an open wound  is not properly protected. If you become ill after swimming at a beach, be sure to contact the Ashtabula County  Health Department. If medical attention is required, make sure to inform your doctor  that you have recently been to a public bathing beach