There are no federal laws as of 2010 that stipulate the building of residential swimming pool fences. However, in recognition of the danger pools present to young children, individual states have enacted laws that require homeowners to install fences of certain heights around their pools.
Background
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1997 accidental drowning was the third leading cause of death among U.S. children ages 1 to 4, and the leading cause of death among this age group in Arizona and Florida. It is estimated that for every 10 children who drown, 36 more children are admitted to hospitals and 140 are treated in emergency rooms. Toddlers are often at high risk for drowning due to new-found mobility, curiosity and the inability to recognize dangerous situations. Even a closely watched child can, in a matter of seconds, leave the house and fall or jump into the pool. It takes only two or three minutes for a child to become unconscious in the water and four to six minutes for irreversible brain damage or death to occur. According to healthpolicy.org, approximately half of all swimming pool drownings and near-drownings occur in the child's own pool. A perimeter fence around the entire property line prevents neighborhood children from gaining access to the pool, but does not block a child's access to his own pool. Isolation fencing, a fence that surrounds the pool itself, separates the pool from the house and yard, preventing a child from being able to walk out of his house and into the pool.
Laws
There are no federal laws regarding residential swimming pool fences. But several states have passed laws that require pool barriers for all new pool construction. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission developed pool barrier standards that have served as the foundation for many local and state pool fencing codes. The CPSC recommends a minimum barrier height of 4 feet.
Considerations
Laws requiring four-sided isolation fencing will be most effective in preventing accidental drownings. Three-sided perimeter fence laws only prevent drownings that do not occur at home. Physical barriers between the home and the pool prevent direct access to the pool by young children. According to healthpolicy.org, it is estimated that a four-sided fence can reduce drownings of children under 13 years of age by about 75 percent when compared with no fencing or a three-sided perimeter fence.
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