Aboveground Pool: Bonding Is Not Grounding

They are different systems serving different purposes. Grounding provides a fault-current return path to the source so an overcurrent device operates. Bonding ties all metallic and conductive parts together so they sit at the same potential, preventing a voltage gradient across a person touching the ladder and standing on wet decking. A grounded pump does not bond the pool, and the electrician's statement is wrong on its face.

Bonding requirements (680.26):

• The bonding conductor is 8 AWG solid copper, installed in a ring or grid around the pool, with listed connections and no splices except at listed connectors.
• Bond the metal ladder, the metal joist hangers and any metal deck framing within the bonding zone, metal fittings, and metallic raceways or metal parts of electrical equipment within 5 ft of the inside wall.
• Perimeter surfaces: unencapsulated conductive decking within 3 ft of the pool wall must be bonded; this is where the joist hangers and any metal edging come in.
• The bonding conductor must be connected to the pool water via a listed water-bonding means.
• Structural reinforcing steel, if present, must be bonded; aboveground pools typically avoid this problem, but the metal wall of the pool itself must be bonded.

Critically: the bonding grid is not required to be connected to the panel's equipment grounding conductor, and it is not a substitute for it. The pump motor still needs an equipment grounding conductor through the wiring method and GFCI protection as required for pool pump motors (680.21(C)). Some installers deliberately tie the bonding grid to the pump's EGC; that is not the intent of 680.26 and should not be used as the only connection.

Pump receptacle at 8 ft. For a receptacle supplying a water-pump motor or other load directly related to circulation or sanitation, the required separation from the inside wall of the pool is at least 6 ft. At 8 ft, the location is acceptable. It must be GFCI protected - pool pump motors require GFCI protection, and a cord-and-plug pump with a twist-lock receptacle is a classic case where the protection belongs at the receptacle or the breaker, not only in the pump. Confirm the receptacle is a listed, weather-resistant type with a while-in-use cover and that the cord length does not exceed the limits for the pump's listing.

Proposed receptacle at 5 ft. This is inside the 6 ft minimum and is not permitted for a general-purpose receptacle serving the deck. Move it to at least 6 ft from the inside wall, and also observe the maximum distance band the code sets for the required general-purpose pool receptacle - verify the current 6 ft to 20 ft band in the adopted edition, since it has been revised. The relocated receptacle must be GFCI protected, on a dedicated or appropriately protected circuit, and be a weather-resistant type with an in-use cover.

Judgment call: the 5 ft measurement is usually taken from the inside wall of the pool to the receptacle face. If the deck edge overhangs, measure from the inside wall, not the deck edge, and document the measurement on the inspection card so the disagreement does not reappear at final.

Yes. 680.26(C) requires the pool water to be connected to the equipotential bonding grid. The purpose is to eliminate a potential difference between the water and the bonded metal parts; if the water is not bonded, a fault in an immersed pump or light can elevate the water to a dangerous potential relative to the ladder and deck. The requirement does not disappear when the plumbing is plastic - plastic plumbing is precisely when the traditional metal-fitting bond path is unavailable.

Method. Where there is no metal component with sufficient water contact area (the classic 9 sq in. of conductive surface), a listed water-bonding device must be installed. Typical solutions are an in-line or skimmer-body bonding fitting listed for the purpose, or a listed device installed in the pump strainer or a tee. The device must be connected to the 8 AWG solid copper bonding conductor with a listed connector.

Field notes:

• The bonding ring and the water bond must be one electrically continuous system, tested with a continuity meter and documented before the deck is closed up.
• Do not rely on the pump housing or the water itself as the conductor between the bond ring and the water; the connection must be mechanical and listed.
• Because this is an aboveground pool, the ring can often be run around the perimeter at the base and up to the ladder and hangers, but the water bond still must be installed at the skimmer or return.