Swimming pool safety should never be underestimated. This is why there are laws and rules in place for swimming pool owners to follow, as these laws and rules help save lives. Local, county, state, and federal principles and regulations help ensure the safety of anyone who goes swimming in a pool or is within a pool area, as not everyone who’s in charge of a pool understands how to keep all ages safe from backyard pool accidents and drownings.
If you’re a pool owner or someone who’s in charge of a pool area, it’s essential for you to understand the pool laws and rules in your area so you know how to protect anyone under your watch from experiencing a pool-related injury.
Swimming Pools Laws
Swimming pool laws are put into place for 2 reasons – as a response to the too many child pool drownings that occur, and to prevent the lawsuits that often occur after someone is injured or drowns in a swimming pool. Because swimming pool safety laws can be confusing, it’s necessary to understand each level to ensure that all laws are indeed being followed. A great place to start is by reading the Safety Barrier Guidelines for Residential Pools document created by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Fence Laws
One of the more important laws in place to help prevent swimming pool accidents require that safety pool fences be installed around a pool area. Safety pool fences are a type of pool barrier that works very well for preventing unauthorized pool access, as long as it’s installed correctly. Since every state has their own pool fence laws, the information below is a state law example of safety pool fence laws that need to be followed in order to support swimming pool safety.
Arizona: Pool fence laws in Arizona are focused on protecting children aged 6 and younger who live in a home that has a swimming pool. The law states that a wall or fence barrier must be installed around a pool area, whether it’s an above ground or an in-ground pool. The fence must completely surround the pool area, be at least 5 feet high, and not include any openings that are more than 4″ wide. The fence must also not include any footholds, handholds, or openings that allow someone to enter a pool area.
Are You Following the Laws in Your Area?
Trying to follow the pool laws in your area can be confusing because there’s often more than one level of pool laws depending on where you live. You need to figure out what the most restrictive laws are, as these are the pool laws you will need to follow. If you’re still confused, as it’s necessary for you to gather all of the law information in your area so you know which laws you need to adhere to, you can contact your local authorities for more information.
Swimming Pool Rules
Following swimming pool rules is essential for securing a home in order to prevent unauthorized swimming pool entry, as many homes include doors that lead directly to an outside pool area. This makes it essential for parents to secure their home using additional pool barriers, like self-closing doors that have self-latching door latches, and door alarms. While choosing one door barrier tends to be sufficient, choosing both door barriers allows for additional protection.
Rules for Securing a Home to Prevent Backyard Pool Entry
The rules of swimming pool safety are essentially pool rules to protect any age from potentially getting hurt when in a pool area. Pool rules are especially important when young children are present, as these rules help to prevent unauthorized access to a swimming pool. For example, Delaware is one of the states that has swimming pool rules in place that requires “all entrances to indoor pools shall be equipped with locks and each entrance shall be locked when the pool is closed”.
This means at least one of the following safety precautions need to be adhered to when there are doors that lead to an outside swimming pool area.
- The door must have an alarm that produces a loud sound within 7 seconds of the door opening, must produce sound for a minimum of 30 seconds, must be loud enough to be heard anywhere in the house, must automatically reset
- The pool must be covered by a pool safety cover that is in compliance with ASTM F1346
- Other barriers need to be installed, like self-closing and self-latching doors
Door Locks
Self-closing doors help prevent young children from unknowingly accessing a pool area. These doors should include safety door latches, as this type of safety door lock allows for another layer of protection. This additional layer not only allows for peace of mind, it could also mean the difference between life and death. Door locks need to be installed at least 54 inches from the ground, unless it’s a double-keyed deadbolt lock, which means it can be installed at any height. Removable door locks are not acceptable, as this type of door lock doesn’t meet the current safety codes in place.
Door Alarms
Door alarms help protect children from entering a pool area by sounding an audible alarm when the door is opened, which immediately alerts parents that something may be wrong. Door alarms need to be installed at least 4 feet from the ground, as this helps prevent children from reaching the alarm. Alarms attached to home doors use batteries, and will emit a low battery indicator sound that lets parents know it’s time to change the batteries. While many parents will install a door alarm barrier, whether it’s a required rule or not, many also install locks on windows that lead to an outside pool area.
Are You Following the Rules in Your Area?
Following all rules of swimming pool safety is necessary in order to protect young children from potential pool injuries. One of the most important rules requires pool owners to install a pool barrier to prevent unauthorized pool access, more commonly known as safety pool fences. This makes it a good idea for you to install a fence around your pool area to protect your friends and family, as well as install any door locks and door alarms that can prevent unauthorized pool access.
Are you currently in compliance with the swimming pool laws and rules in your area?
