Designing a pool for kids and safety

The numbers are hard to read, and they are the reason this guide exists. The CDC says drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 in the United States, and that drowning can happen even when children are not expected to be near water, such as when they get into a pool without anyone knowing. The CPSC adds that more than half of young child pool drownings are tied to a gap in adult supervision, and that most of the children had been missing for 5 minutes or less when they were found.

Nobody plans for a gap in supervision. It happens when someone runs in for a phone, a toddler slips out a patio door, or a gate does not quite latch. Good design will not replace watching your kids. What it does is slow a child down and make noise when something goes wrong, so a short lapse does not turn into a tragedy. The time to build those layers in is before we dig, when they cost the least and fit best.

Residential pools in Ohio are built to barrier rules based on Section 305 of the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC). North Olmsted's building division, for example, requires a barrier complying with ISPSC Section 305 around the entire pool and attaches the section to its pool handout. The main points of the 2018 edition it prints:

• The barrier is at least 48 inches high, measured on the outside.
• No opening lets a 4-inch sphere through.
• The gap at the bottom is no more than 2 inches over grass or gravel, and no more than 4 inches over concrete.
• Pedestrian gates open outward, away from the pool, and are self-closing and self-latching.
• If the latch release is lower than 54 inches from the ground, it goes on the pool side, at least 3 inches below the top of the gate.
• There is a 36-inch clear zone outside the barrier, with no pumps, filters, heaters or other equipment a child could climb.
• The barrier sits at least 20 inches back from the water's edge.

North Olmsted also warns that many backyard fences, and the back wall, doors and windows of a house, do not meet these rules as built and must be modified or backed up by a separate barrier. We handle permits on every pool and confirm the local version of these rules with your building department, whether you are in Kent, Green or Strongsville, before the design is final.

Many families plan to use their existing backyard fence as the pool barrier, with the house as the fourth side. It is legal in many places if the house doors and windows are protected, but it is not the safest layout. The CDC says a four-sided isolation fence, which separates the pool from the house and the rest of the yard, reduces a child's risk of drowning by 83 percent compared with three-sided property-line fencing.

The reason is simple. With a property-line fence, the house is the barrier, and a child who gets out the back door is already at the pool. With an isolation fence, there is still a gate between that child and the water.

When we lay out the pool in 3D, we draw the fence line too. That shows where the gate goes, how you carry food and towels from the kitchen, and whether the patio for grown-ups sits inside the fence or outside it. Getting that right early makes the fence something you live with easily, not something you prop open.

If a wall of the house forms part of the barrier, and doors or windows open straight onto the pool area, the ISPSC gives three options:

1. Alarms on those doors and on operable windows with a sill under 48 inches, listed to UL 2017 as water hazard entrance alarms, with the shutoff switch 54 inches or higher on most homes.
2. A safety cover listed to ASTM F1346 on the pool.
3. Another approved protection, such as self-closing, self-latching doors, that gives at least the same level of protection.

A powered automatic safety cover goes further. The International Code Council explains that where a pool has a powered safety cover complying with ASTM F1346, the pool area does not have to meet barrier sections 305.2 through 305.7. A manual cover does not earn that exemption, because people do not put it on every time. Local ordinances can still require a fence, so confirm before you count on it.

We offer automatic covers and safety covers as upgrades. For a family with small kids, an automatic cover deserves serious thought. It adds a layer of protection, it keeps heat in, and in Ohio it keeps leaves out in the fall.

Look for shallow, flat space where a small child can stand or sit, and wide, easy ways in and out.

• Wading areas and ledges. Several Liberty Composites shells, including the Dignity 10x20, have a wading area. Others have a tanning ledge with a few inches of water over it. Liberty also molds safety ledges below the waterline on its pools, which it describes as a foothold for little ones learning to swim.
• Wide steps. Liberty uses slip-resistant textured steps and seats. Full-width steps at the shallow end let a child climb out anywhere along them.
• A gentle slope. A shallow end that stays shallow for a good distance gives kids room to play without drifting into deep water.
• More than one way out. Several Liberty models list multiple points of entry and exit. A child who tires in the middle of the pool should have somewhere close to go.
• No diving board. Liberty's pools are non-diving unless noted otherwise. Teach kids feet first from day one.

Drains and suction outlets. The CPSC's Pool Safely campaign warns that hair, limbs, jewelry and swimsuits can be caught in a drain or suction opening, and tells swimmers never to use a pool with a loose, broken or missing drain cover. Every drain and suction cover should meet current federal anti-entrapment standards, and you should see the cover specs for your pool. Teach kids to stay away from drains, and check the covers at every opening.

Lighting. Our packages include Pentair color LED lights. At dusk, a lit pool lets an adult on the patio see the whole floor of the pool. Put a light where it reaches the deep end and the shallow ledge, not only at the steps.

Deck surface. Kids run. A broom-finish or textured concrete deck gives better grip than a smooth one, and a wider deck keeps chairs, toys and people out of the path around the water.

Equipment placement. The pump, filter and heater have to sit outside the 36-inch climbing zone around the barrier, and ideally out of sight of curious kids altogether. We place the equipment pad with that in mind.

No fence or alarm takes the place of an adult. The CPSC recommends naming a Water Watcher: one adult whose only job is to watch the children in the water, with no phone and no grill duty. At a party, trade the job every so often so nobody drifts.

The CDC adds two more layers worth planning for. Formal swim lessons reduce the risk of drowning for children and young adults, so the spring before the pool opens is a good time to book them. And alcohol matters for the adults: the CDC says alcohol is involved in up to 70 percent of deaths tied to water recreation among teens and adults.

Keep a phone, a reaching pole and a ring buoy by the pool, and have the adults in the house learn CPR. If a child is missing, check the pool first.

We design every pool in 3D before anything is dug, and a family pool gets the safety layout drawn into that model: fence line, gate swing, alarm locations, cover track, the shallow areas and the lights. You see how the pieces fit before you commit, and we price the upgrades, such as an automatic cover, in the same quote so the whole number is in front of you. Our packages start at $68,400 installed, and our lending partners can finance the pool and its safety upgrades together.

As your kids get older, the pool changes with them. The shallow ledge becomes the spot for teenagers to sit and talk, and the automatic cover keeps doing its job long after the toddler years.