There are no substitutes for adult supervision, safeguards, and barriers around pools to prevent accidental drawing of children.  These safeguards are designed to prevent a child in gaining access to the pool or spa area unless a caregiver who has the time to watch the child provides access. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States drowning is one of the leading causes of injury death in individuals under the age of 45 and the second leading cause of injury deaths in children between the ages of 1 and 14 years of age.  Often referred to as the "silent death,” victims of drawing are often unable to cry for help, splash, or attract attention to their desperate situation.  According to the CDC, there were 3,447 unintentional drownings in the year 2002 in the United States.  This calculates out to be approximately 9 individuals per day who died as a result of drowning that year.  This number however does not include those individuals who drown as a result of boating accidents.  Of the 3,447 drowning deaths, 838 were children between the ages of 0 and 14.  [*]     

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) 75% of the children who were involved in swimming pool or drowning accidents were between the ages of 1 and 3 years old.  Both the CDC and CPSC have published statistics that reveal in most instances involving the drowning of a child, the child was being supervised by at least parent when the accident occurred.  Of all the children who drowned, approximately 23% of them were seen within 5 minutes before the accident occurred.  Even more astounding, approximately 69% of the children who drown were not expected to be in or around the pool at the time of their drowning. 

Children are by nature curious, and many are drawn to water.  Therefore, in order to protect children and to reduce, preferably eliminate the number of drownings, which occur in private and neighborhood swimming pools, layers of protection need to be installed.  This means have other safety precautions in place other than a single fence or barrier. 

The first barrier or line should be a sturdy pool fence or wall that is at least a minimal four feet high.  The spaces between the slates or bars must be close enough so that a small child cannot squeeze or crawl through, this also means that the bottom of the fence must also be close enough to the ground so that a child cannot squeeze under.  This fence or wall also must be away from trees and tables or other objects that can aid a child in climbing over the fence.  The first priority of any pool fence or barrier is to prevent the access of any children to the pool area without supervised permission. 

The next line of protection should be alarms.  This includes pool alarms as well as door alarms.  Door alarms should be installed on all doors and entries leading from the home to the pool area.  Ideally, door alarms should sound within 5 to 7 seconds once the door is opened, and should continue to sound for a minimal of least 30 seconds.  In addition, the sound of the alarm should be loud and distinctive so that it can be heard over radios, televisions, and all other noises that may be in the house.  In order for adults to enter and leave without the alarm sounding, most systems have a switch or keypad.  However, to prevent children from shutting off the alarm, the switch or keypad should be mounted out of the reach of children. 

Pool alarms are seen by most as another layer of protection.  There are several different varieties of pool alarms, including those designed to detect any disturbance in the water.  Other pool alarms use infrared beams and detect motion in and around the pool area.  A third type of pool alarm sounds when the alarm becomes wet.  These alarms are worn on the child’s wrist, and similar alarms are fitted on pet collars, thus alerting pet owners when their pets enter the pool.    

Another layer of protection are safety pool covers.  Regular pool covers as well as solar and winter pool covers are perfect for preventing leaves and debris from falling into the pool, but they can become potentially hazardous if a child or even an adult steps out onto them.  Children as well as adults can become trapped when the cover sinks under the weight of the individual, making escape nearly impossible without help.   

Pool safety covers are often constructed of mesh or solid material and can be anchored with straps to the deck.  These straps can then be pulled so that the cover is tight over the pool.  Many view the mesh safety pool cover as safer for it allows rain and snow to seep through while blocking debris from entering the pool, whereas the solid safety pool covers can sag due to excessive rain or debris.  However, if one selects the solid safety pool cover, then it is advisable to also purchase a pump specially made to remove any water, which accumulates on the cover. 

Pool owners that employee all of these layers of safety still need to provide close and constant supervision by responsible adults to ensure the safety of any child that is in or around the swimming pools.  In addition, every child should be taught how to swim.  There should be a certified flotation devices on site incase of an emergency at every swimming pool whether it is privately or publicly own.   

Nearly every state has laws regulating pool safety.  Under most state laws, a pool must have a barrier such as a fence or wall that separates the pool from the house or public.  In some states, a motorized pool cover requiring a key switch in order to operate it is considered a pool barrier.  Each state also regulates the height of the required barrier, with the height varying from a minimal of 4 feet to 6 feet high depending of the state and local ordinances.  In addition, there can be regulations on openings, with most states requiring that the opening be no more than 4 inches wide.  To find out the barrier code in your city or county, contact your city hall or county office and request to speak to the Community Development department or for persons handling pool inspections.