When you own a pool you take on a great amount of responsibility. While you cannot control someone’s actions when they’re in your pool you can do all that is in your power to make your pool and the area surrounding it as safe as possible to prevent drownings.
In California, lawmakers are pushing pool owners to do just that. A new law that went into effect January 1, 2018 requires all new pools or remodeled pools to have two safety features for their pool. Previously, only one safety feature was required by law such as a fence, cover, or alarm.
The push is due to the fact that drowning is the leading cause of death of children ages one to four in California. Between 2010 and 2015 more than 160 young children drowned in the state. More than 700 others were hospitalized for near-fatal drownings.
While the circumstances surrounding each case are different, what is not is the need for increased pool safety. Now in California, pool owners must have two of the following safety features in place:
- An enclosure that isolates the pool or spa from a private single-family home.
- Removable mesh fencing that meets American Society for Tests and Materials (ASTM) standards as well as a gate that is self-enclosing and self-latching and can accommodate a key lockable device.
- An approved safety pool cover
- Exit alarms on single-family doors that provide direct access to a pool or spa.
- Self-closing, self-latching device with a release mechanism placed no lower than 54 inches above the floor on the private single-family home’s doors providing direct access to the swimming pool or spa.
- An alarm that, when placed in a swimming pool or spa, will sound upon detection of accidental or unauthorized entrance into the water.
- Another means of protection that is equal or greater than any of the above and has met standards of the ASTM or the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
No matter where you live and what type of laws are in place, safety should be priority number one when you own a pool. Installing a pool fence from a reputable company is an easy way to avoid drowning accidents. To learn more about installing a pool fence at your home contact Protect a Child Pool Fence .
