Swimming pools should always
be happy places.
Unfortunately, each year
thousands of American
families confront swimming
pool tragedies, drownings
and near-drownings of young
children. These tragedies
are preventable. These are
guidelines for pool barriers
that can help prevent most
submersion incidents
involving young children.
This designed for use by
owners, purchasers, and
builders of residential
pools, spas, and hot tubs.
These guidelines are not
intended as the sole method
to minimize pool drowning of
young children, just helpful
safety tips for safer pools.

Each year, hundreds of young
children die and thousands come
close to death due to submersion
in residential swimming pools.
CPSC has estimated that each
year about 300 children under 5
years old drown in swimming
pools. Hospital emergency room
treatment is required for more
than 2,000 children under 5
years of age who were submerged
in residential pools. CPSC did
an extensive study of swimming
pool accidents, both fatal
drowning's and near-fatal
submersions, in California,
Arizona and Florida, states in
which home swimming pools are
very popular and in use during
much of the year.
-
In California, Arizona and
Florida,
drowning was the
leading cause of accidental
death in and around
the home for
children under the
age of 5 years.
- 75
percent of the children
involved in swimming pool
submersion or drowning
accidents were between 1 and
3 years old.
- Boys
between 1 and 3 years old
were the most likely victims
of fatal drowning's and
near-fatal submersions in
residential swimming pools.
- Most of
the victims were being
supervised by one or both
parents when the swimming
pool accident occurred.
- Nearly
half of the child victims
were last seen in the house
before the pool accident
occurred. In addition, 23
percent of the accident
victims were last seen on
the porch or patio, or in
the yard.
- This
means that fully 69 percent
of the children who became
victims in swimming pool
accidents were not expected
to be in or at the pool, but
were found drowned or
submerged in the water.
- 65
percent of the accidents
occurred in a pool owned by
the victim’s immediate
family, and 33 percent of
the accidents occurred in
pools owned by relatives or
friends.
- Fewer
than 2 percent of the pool
accidents were a result of
children trespassing on
property where they didn’t
live or belong.
- 77
percent of the swimming pool
accident victims had been
missing for five minutes or
less when they were found in
the pool drowned or
submerged.
The speed with which swimming
pool drowning's and submersions
can occur is a special concern:
by the time a child’s absence is
noted, the child may have
drowned. Anyone who has cared
for a toddler knows how fast
young children can move.
Toddlers are inquisitive and
impulsive and lack a realistic
sense of danger. These
behaviors, coupled with a
child’s ability to move quickly
and unpredictably make swimming
pools particularly hazardous for
households with young children.
Swimming pool drowning's of
young
children have another
particularly insidious
feature: these are
silent deaths. It is
unlikely that
splashing or screaming will
occur to alert a
parent or caregiver that a
child is in trouble.
The best way to
reduce
child drowning's in
residential
pools was
for pool owners to
construct and maintain
barriers that would
prevent young children
from gaining access
to pools.
However, there are no
substitutes for diligent
supervision.
Why the Swimming
Pool Guidelines Were
Developed
Young child can get
over a pool barrier
if
the barrier is too low or
if the barrier has
handholds or
footholds for a child
to use
when climbing. The
guidelines recommend that
the top of a pool barrier be
at least 48 inches above
grade, measured on the side
of the barrier which faces
away from the swimming pool.
Eliminating handholds and
footholds and minimizing the
size of openings in a
barrier’s construction.
For a solid
barrier
no indentations or
protrusions
should be present,
other than
normal construction
tolerances
and masonry joints.
For a barrier (fence) made
up of horizontal and
vertical members if
the distance between
the
tops of the
horizontal members
is less than 45
inches, the horizontal
members should be
on the swimming pool
side of
the fence. The
spacing of the
vertical members
should not
exceed 1-3/4 inches.
This size
is based on the foot
width of a
young child and is
intended to
reduce the potential
for a
child to gain a
foothold. If
there are any
decorative cutouts
in the fence, the
space
within the cutouts
should not
exceed 1-3/4 inches.
The definition of pool
includes spas and hot tubs.
The swimming pool barrier
guidelines therefore apply
to these
structures as well as to
conventional swimming pools.
How
to Prevent a Child from
Getting OVER a Pool
Barrier
A successful
pool barrier prevents a
child from getting OVER,
UNDER, or THROUGH and
keeps the child from
gaining
access to the pool
except when
supervising adults
are present.
The Swimming Pool
Barrier Guidelines
If the
distance between the
tops of the
horizontal members
is more than 45
inches, the
horizontal members
can be on
the side of the fence
facing
away from the pool.
The spacing
between vertical
members
should not exceed 4
inches.
This size is based on
the head
breadth and chest
depth of a
young child and is
intended to
prevent a child from
passing
through an opening.
Again, if
there are any
decorative
cutouts in the fence,
the space
within the cutouts
should not
exceed 1-3/4 inches.

For a chain link fence the mesh
size should not exceed 1-1/4
inches square unless slats,
fastened at the top or bottom of
the fence, are used to reduce
mesh openings to no more than
1-3/4 inches.
For a fence made up of
diagonal members
(latticework)
the maximum opening
in
the lattice should not
exceed
1-3/4 inches.
Aboveground pools should have
barriers. The pool structure
itself serves as a barrier or a
barrier is mounted on top of the
pool structure. Then, there are
two possible ways to prevent
young children from climbing up
into an aboveground pool. The
steps or ladder can be designed
to be secured, locked or removed
to prevent access, or the steps
or ladder can be surrounded by a
barrier such as those described
above. For any pool barrier, the
maximum clearance at the bottom
of the barrier should not exceed
4 inches above grade, when the
measurement is done on the side
of the barrier facing away from
the pool.
If an aboveground pool has a
barrier on the top of the pool,
the maximum vertical clearance
between the top of the pool and
the bottom of the barrier should
not exceed 4 inches. Preventing
a child from getting through a
pool barrier can be done by
restricting the sizes of
openings in a barrier and by
using self-closing and
self-latching gates.
To prevent a young child
from getting through
a fence
or other barrier, all
openings
should be small
enough so that
a 4-inch diameter
sphere cannot
pass through. This
size is
based on the head
breadth and
chest depth of a
young child.
Gates
There are two kinds of gates
which might be found on a
residential property. Both can
play a part in the design of a
swimming pool barrier.
Pedestrian Gates
are the gates people
walk through.
Swimming pool
barriers should be
equipped
with a gate or gates
which
restrict access to
the pool. A
locking device should
be
included in the gate design.
Gates should open out
from
the pool and should
be self closing
and self-latching. If
a
gate is properly designed,
even
if the gate is not
completely latched, a young
child pushing
on the gate in order
to enter
the pool area will at
least close
the gate and may
actually engage the latch.
When the release
mechanism
of the self-latching
device is less than
54 inches
from the bottom of
the gate,
the release mechanism
for the
gate should be at
least 3 inches
below the top of the
gate on
the side facing the
pool.
Placing the release
mechanism
at this height
prevents a young
child from reaching
over the
top of a gate and
releasing the
latch.
Also, the gate and
barrier
should have no
opening
greater than 1/2 inch
within
18 inches of the
latch release
mechanism. This
prevents a
young child from
reaching
through the gate and
releasing
the latch.
Other gates
should be equipped with
self-latching devices. The
self-latching devices should
be installed as described
for pedestrian gates.
How to Prevent a Child
from Getting UNDER / THROUGH a
Pool Barrier
In many homes, doors open
directly onto the pool area or
onto a patio which leads to the
pool. In such cases, the wall of
the house is an important part
of the pool barrier, and passage
through any doors in the house
wall should be controlled by
security measures. The
importance of controlling a
young child’s movement from
house to pool is demonstrated by
the statistics obtained during
CPSC’s study of pool incidents
in California, Arizona and
Florida. Almost half (46
percent) of the children who
became victims of pool accidents
were last seen in the house just
before they were found in the
pool.
All doors which give
access to a swimming
pool
should be equipped
with an
audible alarm which
sounds
when the door and/or
screen
are opened. The alarm
should
sound for 30 seconds
or more
within 7 seconds
after the
door is opened and
should be loud,
at least 85 decibels,
when measured 10 feet
away
from the alarm
mechanism.
The alarm sound
should be
distinct from other
sounds in
the house, such as
the telephone,
doorbell and smoke
alarm. The alarm
should have
an automatic reset
feature.
Because adults will
want
to pass through house
doors in
the pool barrier
without setting
off the alarm, the
alarm should
have a switch that
allows
adults to temporarily
deactivate
the alarm for up to
15
seconds. The deactivation
switch could be a
touch pad
(keypad) or a manual
switch,
and should be located
at least
54 inches above the
threshold
of the door covered
by the
alarm. This height
was selected
based on the reaching
ability
of young children.
Power safety covers can be
installed on pools to serve as
security barriers. Power safety
covers should conform to the
specifications in ASTM F
1346-91. This standard specifies
safety performance requirements
for pool covers to protect young
children from drowning.
Self-closing doors with
self-latching devices could also
be used to safeguard doors which
give ready access to a swimming
pool.
Indoor Pools
When a pool
is located completely within
a house, the
walls that surround
the pool
should be equipped to
serve as
pool safety barriers.
Measures
recommended above
where a
house wall serves as
part of a
safety barrier also
apply for all
the walls surrounding
an
indoor pool.
Guidelines
An outdoor
swimming pool, including an
inground, aboveground, or
onground pool,
hot tub, or spa,
should be provided with a
barrier which
complies with the
following:
1. The top of the barrier should
be at least 48 inches above
grade measured on the side of
the barrier which faces away
from the swimming pool. The
maximum vertical clearance
between grade and the bottom of
the barrier should be 4 inches
measured on the side of the
barrier which faces away from
the swimming pool. Where the top
of the pool structure is above
grade, such as an aboveground
pool, the barrier may be at
ground level, such as the pool
structure, or mounted on top of
the pool structure. Where the
barrier is mounted on top of the
pool structure, the maximum
vertical clearance between the
top of the pool structure and
the bottom of the barrier should
be 4 inches.
2. Openings in the barrier
should not
allow passage of a
4-inch diameter
sphere.
3. Solid barriers, which do not
have openings, such as a masonry
or stone wall, should not
contain indentations or
protrusions except for normal
construction tolerances and
tooled masonry joints.
4. Where the barrier is
composed of horizontal
and vertical
members and the distance
between the tops
of the horizontal
members is less than 45
inches, the horizontal
members should be
located on the swimming
pool side of the fence.
Spacing between vertical
members should not
exceed 1-3/4 inches in
width. Where there are
decorative cutouts,
spacing within the
cutouts should not
exceed 1-3/4 inches in
width.
5. Where the barrier is composed
of horizontal and vertical
members and the distance between
the tops of the horizontal
members is 45 inches or more,
spacing between vertical members
should not exceed 4 inches.
Where there are decorative
cutouts, spacing within the
cutouts should not exceed 1-3/4
inches in width.
6. Maximum mesh size for
chain link
fences should not
exceed 1-3/4 inch
square unless the
fence is provided with
slats fastened at the
top or the bottom
which reduce the
openings to no more
than 1-3/4 inches.
7. Where the barrier is
composed of diagonal
members, such as a lattice
fence, the maximum opening
formed by the diagonal
members should be no more
than 1-3/4 inches.
8. Access
gates to the pool should
be equipped to
accommodate a
locking device.
Pedestrian access gates
should open outward,
away from the pool,
and should be
self-closing and have a self
latching
device. Gates other
than pedestrian
access gates should
have a self-latching
device. Where the
release mechanism of
the self-latching
device is located less
than 54 inches from
the bottom of the
gate.
- The
release mechanism should
be located on the pool
side of the gate at
least 3 inches
below the top of the
gate.
- The
gate and barrier should
have no opening greater
than 1/2 inch within 18
inches of the release
mechanism.
9. Where a wall of a dwelling
serves as part of the barrier,
one of the following should
apply:
-
All doors with direct access
to the pool
through that wall
should be equipped with
an alarm which
produces an audible warning
when the door and its
screen, if present,
are opened. The alarm
should sound
continuously for a
minimum of 30 seconds
within 7 seconds
after the
door is opened. The
alarm should have a minimum
sound pressure rating
of 85 dBA at
10 feet and the sound
of the alarm should
be distinctive from
other household
sounds, such as smoke
alarms, telephones,
and door bells. The
alarm should automatically
reset under all
conditions. The
alarm should be
equipped with manual
means, such as
touchpads or switches, to
temporarily
deactivate the alarm for a
single
opening of the door
from either direction.
Such deactivation
should last for no
more than 15 seconds.
The deactivation
touch pads or
switches should be located
at
least 54 inches above the
threshold of the
door.
- The pool
should be equipped with a
power safety cover which
complies with ASTM F1346-91
listed below.
- Other
means of protection, such as
self-closing doors with
self-latching devices, are
acceptable so long as the
degree of protection
afforded is not less than
the protection afforded by
the above.
10. Where an aboveground
pool structure is used as a
barrier or where the barrier
is mounted on top of the
pool structure, and the
means of access is a ladder
or steps, then:
-
The ladder to the pool
or steps
should be capable
of being secured,
locked or removed
to prevent access.
-
The ladder or steps
should be surrounded
by a barrier.
When the ladder
or steps are
secured, locked, or
removed,
any opening
created should not allow
the
passage of a
4-inch diameter sphere.
These
guidelines are intended
to provide a means of
protection against
potential drowning's and
narrowing to children
under 5 years of age by
restricting access to
residential swimming
pools, spas, and hot
tubs.
Exemptions
A portable spa with a safety
cover which complies with
ASTM F1346-91 listed below
should be exempt from the
guidelines presented in this
document. Swimming pools,
hot tubs, and non portable
spas with safety covers
should not be exempt from
the provisions of this
document.