New federal regulations requiring all public pools and hot tubs to have safety measures that prevent kids from being entrapped in the pool drain mean safer public pools throughout Utah. KSL news is reporting that although many pools have made the necessary adjustments to comply with this federal mandate, many Utah pools are still not in compliance.
Drains in older public pools have tremendous suction that presents a great danger for children. To demonstrate the suction force, an NBC news team put a toy on top of a drain and showed that three men could not pull it off. All a kid has to do is lay across this and he’s sucked down, held down and possibly drowns,” said Rolf Larsen, a water quality supervisor.
Video Courtesy of KSL.com
In a recent check, about 90% of Washington County public pools were in compliance with the new regulation. Weber-County sits at a 85% compliance level and Utah County and Salt Lake County were lowest at 70% and 50% respectively.
Health officials say that because the mandate is nationwide there has been great demand for the parts to retrofit older drains. They believe as more parts become available more and more pools will meet the federal standard.
Of course parents should always be vigilant of their children when at a pool, but parents should also know what to look for. A single drain that lies flush with the bottom of the pool could pose a problem to children. The new, safer drains, sits above the bottom of the pool and are designed to prevent strong suction.
Many Utah residents will be enjoying the rest of their summer days with your children at public pools. This new regulation should help make our Utah pools safer but I remind you that nothing compensates for the watchful eye of a parent.
Those who have been involved in pool drain accidents, particularly young children, should know that legally speaking, there very well could be a claim against the entity who owns and/or maintains the swimming pool. It has been well known for many years of the horrific injuries that can come from the incredible suction on these swimming pool drains. And enough time has passed for them to have done something about it. The owners of these pools should have children safety as their number one goal. If they choose to ignore safety because the cost of the retrofit is too great, than they are basically gambling that no child will be injured by the drain. If someone does in fact get injured, then they have basically lost that bet and should be responsible for the outcome.
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