Does your pool meet the new safety rules?

Here in the northeast, temperatures went from the mid 30s at night to the mid 80s during the day within the space of a week. Welcome to our part of the country. The sudden warmth and approaching Memorial Day weekend has everyone thinking “pool.” This year, that means a lot more than usual.

New regulations (the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act) governing pool drains went into effect last December to prevent entrapment from the powerful suction.  Municipalities, clubs, hotels and homeowners who are opening pools for the first time since then may be scrambling to comply.

We’ve heard there’s been some confusion about the new rules, and it’s possible that the pool you swim in is not up to code. We continue to advise that before you dive into the pool at a U.S. hotel, swim club, or apartment complex, confirm with the manager or engineer that the pool meets the new regulations. He or she should be able to tell you specifically that the drain systems conform to the new standards.

And keep in mind that while the new, safer drains reduce the risk of entrapment, drowning is still the second-leading cause of accidental death in children ages one to 14. Each year 300 children younger than age five drown in pools and spas, according to new data released today by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

So take every precaution possible to secure your own pool and keep your family safe. The CPSC has these pool safety tips:

• Employ layers of protection: Barriers, such as a fence with self-closing, self-latching gates, completely surrounding pools prevent unsupervised access.
• Beware of entrapment: Suction drains in pools and spas can cause entrapments involving hair, body parts, clothing and jewelry, which can lead to death and serious injury.  Do not allow children to play in a pool or hot tub/spa with missing or broken drain covers.
• Look in the pool first: Precious time is often wasted looking for missing children anywhere but in the pool. 
• Drowning is silent: Parents may think that if their child falls in the water, they will hear lots of splashing and screaming,  however, children can slip under the water silently. 
• Never leave a child unattended: Designate a “Water Watcher”, someone who can concentrate on kids in the water.

Comments

[Valerie]

Fred,

Obviously you don't have children or have never had a child close to you die. If you had, you would realize that the cost to make your pool safer is insignificant to the possibility of living with a lifetime of regret and devastating emotional loss. As both a pool owner, parent, and someone who has lived through the experience of having a child close to you die a needless death, I can tell you there is no amount of money I wouldn't invest in making my pool safe for my children or the children of my guests.

[Pete]

I'm curious about Fred's stats/they sound manufactured. But mostly, I wonder what dollar figure he puts on the life of a child.

[Fred]

What a friggin waste of time and $$$.
Millions and Millions of kids swim in tens of thousands of pools every year, and something like 0.00000002% of them suffer injury or fatality,

So we force tens of thousands of pool owners to spend thousands of dollars to "solve" a practically NON existent problem.

Jeez , this ranks up there with the stupidity of putting Trunk Opening Latches INSIDE trunks of cars for the 1 in 10 Million idiots that get locked inside.