Designing Swimming Pool Safety

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May is Pool Safety Month, a great time for every pool owner to evaluate and improve their own pool safety practices.

Swimming pools should all have pool safety built-in, but some pools have been installed with very little consideration to safety.

Today’s post is how to bake-in pool safety on a new pool, or design improvements to make existing pools safer. Do this by adding several Layers of Protection and by Teaching Pool Safety.

Some Sobering Statistics

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According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1- 4 years old. Many of these drownings occur in residential swimming pools.

Children between the ages of 1-3 represent 66% of injuries from 2009-2011 and approximately 58% of the fatalities (annual average of 226) occurred in inground swimming pools according to the CPSC.

Each day in the U.S. approximately 9 people drown.

Participation in swimming lessons for young children can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% among children ages 1-4 years old.

Four sided fencing isolates the pool from the house and the yard which has shown to reduce the amount of drowning injuries or deaths anywhere from 50 to 90 percent.

Layers of Protection

The concept of installing several safety layers around the swimming pool. From the outside-in, here’s a few examples of layers of protection to install around any pool.

  1. Non-climbable pool fence with self-closing gates
  2. Internal fencing or barriers to restrict pool access
  3. Automatic cover or safety pool cover
  4. In-pool alarms, wearable alarms
  5. Door or gate alarms
  6. Rescue equipment

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Pool Fence

Required in most areas, a good pool fence is the first design consideration. Good fences are non-climbable, with no gaps greater than 3-4″, and 4-6 ft. tall.

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Pool Fences don’t have to be ugly! A mixture of fence materials, and thoughtful landscaping can be designed to enhance safety while blending into the surroundings.

For pools that have a 3-sided pool fence, connected to the house, design changes can be made to limit access to the pool, to just one or two locations.

  1. Build barriers with planters, low walls and hedges
  2. Install internal fence – aluminum, glass or mesh
  3. Create one access point in and out of the pool

Safety Pool Covers

A safety cover can be the most effective layer, a barrier that can keep even motivated adults out of the pool. Automatic pool covers, or pool safety covers can be used year around, for increased pool safety. Self-install, or contract with a local pool service company.

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Safety nets are another type of pool barrier, lightweight and easy to put on and take off, and unlike safety covers, allow you to see through to the water. Katchakid nets are installed by a nationwide dealer network.

Swimming Pool Alarms

Some consider these as the final Layer of Protection between your pool and a child. True, since poolside alarms and wristband alarms both sound the alert if a child falls in the pool.

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New are wearable alarms, worn around the head or neck, allowing children to swim, yet sounding an alarm if the device is submerged for longer than a pre-set maximum time, such as 30 seconds.

Door and gate alarms use magnetic sensors, and at the pool, motion sensor alarms can monitor other pool access point(s).

Swimming Pool Visibility

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One practical safety measure is to design as much visibility of the pool as possible. For this purpose, mesh pool fencing, or aluminum or glass fences works well as an internal fence.

Overgrown plants or bushes or other obstacles may help to restrict access to the pool, but should not be used at the expense of visibility.

Lighting is also important as a safety measure. Motion activated lights are a simple product to install nowadays, shining over the pool, and at pool access points.

Teaching Pool Safety

In addition to physical barriers and alarms and equipment, certain behavior and swim skill training will really amplify pool safety, providing additional layers of protection for your pool.

  • Swim Lessons – for children or grand kids, every spring
  • Supervision – pool side or in-pool, never leaving the poolretro-pool-sign
  • Pool Rules – Hold a Pool Safety Summit each spring, to lay down the law. No swimming alone, No shallow diving, No hyperventilating. No dunking, No pushing, No running, No horseplay.

Whether you are planning to build a pool, or have had one for many years, investigate some of these ways to add more layers of protection and bake-in pool safety this summer!

Pool Safety Tips When the Pool is Open

Some “Layers of Protection” involve procedures or advance preparations – and typically cost nothing. Here’s a few examples:

Safe Supervision

  • There’s no substitute for competent ADULT supervision – never leave your children alone in or near the pool (not even for a moment), and always keep your eyes on the pool.
  • Discuss pool safety with your children often – it could help save a life!
  • Practice “touch supervision” with children younger than 5 years – meaning that the supervising adult should always remain within an arm’s length of the children.

Safe Training

  • Anyone watching young children around a pool should know CPR and how to perform a rescue if needed. Contact your YMCA or Red Cross office for information on classes.
  • Learn how to swim. Children should be enrolled early in swimming lessons or a program to familiarize them with the water. Check your local YMCA, Parks & Recreation department or other local programs near your area.

Safe Equipment

  • Keep a charged portable phone by the pool, with posted emergency contact numbers.
  • Use only USCG approved vests, not air-filled floaties, swimmies or water wings.
  • Know where your Pool pump’s cut-off switch is, and clearly mark it.
  • Install a safety line across an inground pool to mark the deep end area.

Safe Practices

  • Store pool chemicals, cleansers, and accessories safely in appropriate areas.
  • Mark the depths of an inground pool at various points around the perimeter.
  • Serve food and beverages in non-breakable containers in the pool area.
  • Get out of the pool at the first sign of a thunderstorm.
  • Anyone who has consumed alcohol or any drugs should not use the pool.
  • Consult a physician prior to swimming or using a spa if you are taking mediation.

Safe Diving

  • Know the depth of any body of water – including an inground pool, prior to diving.
  • Don’t dive into aboveground pools; they are too shallow.
  • Don’t dive from the side of an inground pool – enter the water feet first.
  • Dive only from the end of the diving board and not from the sides.
  • Dive with your hands in front of you and “steer up” upon entering the water.
  • Don’t dive if you have been using alcohol or drugs.

5 Step Pool Safety Scan

1. Fences and Gates

Pool Fence Inspection: Walk around your complete fence perimeter. Check for loose boards, or gaps where even a small animal could skinny through. Give a sharp eye to any unintentional “ladders” around the pool fence. Trees, woodpiles, old cars, whatever – anything that would make it easier for someone to hop over your pool fence.

Pool Gate Inspection: All gates leading to the pool should be Self-Closing and Self-Latching. If there are gates that you don’t frequently use, put a padlock on these gates. Some gates are really easy for a small person to jiggle loose. Give yours a good shake and rattle to see if you can pop it loose. Some are so loose that a stiff breeze will blow them open! Make sure that your gates shut and latch by themselves. Small adjustments are usually needed every few years to keep the pool gate in balance and latching properly behind you.

2. Internal Pool Barriers

Internal Pool Fences make a great additional layer of protection. These barriers don’t have to be fences, they can be kitchen units, hedges, patio furniture sets. As long as it doesn’t block the visibility from the house, a good internal pool barrier will help direct traffic flow to a secondary, internal pool fence. A good designer uses levels, hedges, small hidden fences and outdoor living spaces to create a traffic flow that is smart and safe.

3. Pool Trip & Slip Hazards

  • Slabs of concrete that are not aligned, or a pool that sits higher than the deck.
  • Low spots in the concrete, where standing water puddles, will create slick algae blooms.
  • Mis-placed planters or patio furniture.
  • Hoses or cords running across the deck area.
  • Poorly marked or slippery steps .
  • Slippery pool decks or slippery steps into the pool.
  • Loose coping stones on edge of inground pools.

4. Diving & Sliding Pool Equipment

If you have a diving board, know the demographic of your problem divers. Males, age 18-44, who have had too much to drink. If you hear “Hey, watch this!” at your next pool party, it may be time to close the board. Going too “large” on a residential diving board has put many young men in hospitals and wheel chairs. Consider removing your diving board, but if not, make sure that the bolts are tight, and that the surface has no cracks and it hasn’t lost it’s non-skid surface.

If you have a sliding board, the safety concerns are less, but if you have rowdy guests like those mentioned above, close the slide. Otherwise, during a pool safety scan, check the mountings on the slide legs and the ladder. Look for cracks in the surface – and to prevent red rump, check the water delivery system, the hoses and water jets that deliver a bit of water to the slide deck.

5. Other Layers of Protection

Pool Safety Complacency

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As children get older most pool owners become less worried about their children being injured or drowning. When I built my pool 13 years ago my daughter was 2 and my son was just a baby, so my pool was like Fort Knox – almost impossible for someone to get into the pool area without an adult.

Now that my kids are older I plan to remove a section of our 4-sided vinyl fence to have more entertainment space using two lengths of mesh safety fence. These are easy to install and remove, and will protect neighborhood kids, visiting kids, pets and wildlife.

As kids get older, their stunts and games become more daring, and all it takes is a good knock on the head to become unconscious, and a few seconds for them to slip out of sight. Even though your kids are good swimmers – Adult Supervision is always important, and is the Most Important Layer of Protection.

So, give your pool a Layers of Protection Inspection. See if you can spot any potential hazards, and then make the smart correction.