Exposed Conduit Within 5' of Pool Edge

I am not going to quote the exact wording of the NEC 2023 or NFPA Life safety code 101 but give you the gist and actual Code sections for you to refer to for exact interpretation.
Article 680.11 (A)(B) you can not run underground conduit within 5’ of the pool unless it is necessary to supply pool equipment
Article 680 and underground wiring for other purposes is not permitted under pool.
Article 680.11(A) Conduits must be installed complete between outlets junctions, or splice points.
Article 300.5 The depth of the PVC must be 18”
Article 680.11(A) (6) the liquidtight flexible nonmetallic listed for direct burial.
Article 680.24(B) conduits need to be sealed with a compound identified for use.
Article 680(B)(2) Boxes must be 4” above ground or 8” above water level, which ever is greater.
Article 680.22(B)(1) lights must be 12’ above maximum pool water level or 5’ horizontal from pool edge.
Article 680.23(A)(4) Voltage limit of luminaire 150 volts between conductors
Article 680.23(A)(3) luminaire unless meets low voltage limits, circuit must be protected by GFCI

NFPA Life Safety Code 101 section 7.9/7.10
Basically says you need emergency egress lighting from the pool at specified brightness, at ground level that will last 90 minutes with minimal decline.
 
Rjryan said:
Article 680.11 (A)(B) you can not run underground conduit within 5’ of the pool unless it is necessary to supply pool equipment
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That is not what 680.11(A) says. There is no restriction as to the function of underground wiring within 5' of the pool. The rule simply limits any underground wiring within 5' of the pool to seven wiring methods.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
That is not what 680.11(A) says. There is no restriction as to the function of underground wiring within 5' of the pool. The rule simply limits any underground wiring within 5' of the pool to seven wiring methods.
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I take exception: 680.1 " The provision of this article apply to the construction and installation of electrical wiring for, and equipment in or adjacent to , all swimming ... pools. I believe this implies we are talking about pool wiring.
 
Rjryan said:
I take exception: 680.1 " The provision of this article apply to the construction and installation of electrical wiring for, and equipment in or adjacent to , all swimming ... pools. I believe this implies we are talking about pool wiring.
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Using that logic would mean any wiring that is not associated with the pool does not have to comply with 680.11. IOW's, I could run a UF feeder to an irrigation pump and route it right next to the pool shell since it's not pool wiring.
 
What I am saying is that it is not pool wiring it does not fall in that 5' area around a pool, only pool wiring in an approved form is allow to be in that 5' area because of what the scope of 680.1. In that the scope of the code does not include non pool wiring exception to Article 680.11.
 
Rjryan said:
What I am saying is that it is not pool wiring it does not fall in that 5' area around a pool, only pool wiring in an approved form is allow to be in that 5' area because of what the scope of 680.1. In that the scope of the code does not include non pool wiring exception to Article 680.11.
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That just is not what the code says. Look at the rule in the 2014 code.
680.10 Underground Wiring Location.
Underground wiring shall not be permitted under the pool or within the area extending 1.5 m (5 ft) horizontally from the inside wall of the pool unless this wiring is necessary to supply pool equipment permitted by this article. Where space limitations prevent wiring from being routed a distance 1.5 m (5 ft) or more from the pool, such wiring shall be permitted where installed in complete raceway systems of rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, or a nonmetallic raceway system. All metal conduit shall be corrosion resistant and suitable for the location. The minimum cover depth shall be as given in Table 680.10.
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In that rule, it is very clear that underground wiring not associated with the pool is covered by the rule. In this code edition, the second sentence acts as an exception to the first sentence, and clearly permits wiring not associated with the pool to be within five feet as long as that wiring is installed in the specified wiring methods.
In the 2017 code the rule was rewritten and moved to 680.11.
680.11 Underground Wiring Location.
Underground wiring shall be permitted where installed in rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, rigid polyvinyl chloride conduit, reinforced thermosetting resin conduit, or Type MC cable, suitable for the conditions subject to that location. Underground wiring shall not be permitted under the pool unless this wiring is necessary to supply pool equipment permitted by this article. Minimum cover depths shall be as given in Table 300.5.
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Note that the reference to the wiring being associated with the pool was removed, and that eliminated the need for the second sentence that acted as an exception to the first.
The code making panel statement for this code change said:
This clarifies that the wiring methods underground near pools must be installed in a manner to withstand the conditions unique to the pool environment. Also only wiring related to pools may be run under pools to feed such things as approve up lights, etc. This resolves the conflicting language stating only pool wiring may be within 5 feet and then in the next sentence it permits other wiring within the zone limited to pools. All underground wiring should be installed per Table 300.5, thus eliminating the requirement for table 680.10.
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It seems very clear to me that the rule applies to all wiring within 5' of the pool and does not limit the function of such wiring. The only limit to the function of the underground wiring is where the wiring is under the pool, and in that case and that case alone, the function of the wiring is limited to wiring associated with the pool.
 
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