The California pool fence law of 2021 is a pool fence requirements in California that mandate people to have a fence around their public or residential pools. They are the laws that are required of you to follow if you are to construct a public or residential swimming pool.e
California pool fence law mandates all public and residential swimming pools with more than 18 inches of water and more in-depth to have a fence that is a minimum of 5 feet in height. The fence must have a self-closing gate with a self-latching device and must not have a protrusion that can serve as footholds or handholds.
These pool fence laws are not to be neglected. They are not to deter you from having a pool in your home or your establishment. Rather, the laws are made to ensure you build a pool that is safe for anyone using it.
Imagine what would have if people are allowed to build a swimming pool without a fence. It will be a death trap for children below the age of 5 and the frail medically challenged elderlies. A child can easily crawl into the nearest pool that has no fence/enclosure.
But because the pool has no fence, the toddler will be able to crawl inside the pool. But if the pool has a fence, the baby will not be able to access the pool in his parent’s absence.
California Pool Fence Law
The California pool fence law and the pool fence requirements California are:
- All swimming pools in Califonia, whether public or residential pool that contains 18 inches of water and more in-depth must have a fence or an enclosure.
- All swimming pool fences in California, whether public or residential must be a minimum of 5 feet in height. The minimum fence height is measured on the side of the fence which faces away from the swimming pool.
- The swimming pool fence must have the maximum vertical clearance from the ground to the bottom of the fence and shall be limited to two inches, measured on the side of the fence which faces away from the swimming pool.
- The outside surface of the swimming pool fence in California shall be free from any form of protrusions, cavities, or other physical characteristics that would serve as footholds or handholds for children less than 5 years of age. This is to ensure that your child does use these protrusions to enter the pool in your absence. Please take note of this.
- If the pool fence must have a gap, do not let the gap allow the passage of a sphere equal to or greater than 4 inches in diameter. This is to prevent your children from squeezing themselves inside these gaps to access the pool. It is also to prevent them from getting stuck in these gaps while trying to access the pool in your absence. This may lead to death if no one is around.
- Where the fence is composed of horizontal and vertical members and the distance between the top of the horizontal members is less than 45 inches, the horizontal members shall be located on the swimming pool side of the fence.
- Spacing between vertical members shall not exceed 1 3/4 inches. Where there are decorative cutouts within vertical members, spacing within cutouts shall not exceed 13/4 inches in width.
- Also, where the fence is composed of horizontal and vertical members and the distance between the top of the horizontal members is less than 45 inches or more, spacing between vertical members shall not exceed 4 inches. Where there are decorative cutouts within vertical members, spacing within cutouts shall not exceed 1 3/4 inches in width.
- Where the fence is composed of diagonal members, such as a lattice fence, the maximum opening formed by the diagonal members shall not be more than 1 3/4 inches.
- All swimming pool fences in California, whether public or residential pool must have a gate. This is very important.
- The gate attached to the swimming pool must be installed in a way that it will open away from the swimming pool and not inside the swimming pool.
- The gate must be a self-closing gate with a self-latching device placed no lower than 60 inches above the ground. If you installed the hand-activated gate opening hardware, it shall be located at least 42 inches above the deck or walkway.
- The swimming pool gate should not have too much gap that can allow a child inside the pool if the child squeezes his or herself. This can go wrong in both ways if the child gets stuck in the gap when no one is at home. It may lead to death.
As reiterated earlier, these California pool fence laws are to ensure that all swimming pools in California are not a death trap for children or anyone using them. Irrespective of how careful you may think you are, a child less than 5 of age can do anything within a twinkle of an eye.
For example, On June 24, 2018, a Nigerian popular singer by the name D’Banj and his wife lost their 13-month-old son, Daniel Oyebanjo III, in a drowning accident at the couple’s home in Nigeria.
However, while D’Banj was not in Nigeria when the incident happened, his wife was. He attended the BET Awards in Los Angeles California when the incident all occurred.
Assuming there is a fence around the pool. This unfortunate incident would have been averted. Therefore, ensure you follow all these rules. Do not ignore any of them because they are for your safety and the safety of your children. You don’t have to wait until it happens. Learn from others.
Make sure the fence is a minimum of 5 feet in height. Ensure that there are no physical characteristics outside the fence that a baby can hold or stand on to climb over the fence in your absence. This is very important.
Also, if the swimming pool fence or gate must have an opening, do not let the opening be too wide to avoid the child squeezing himself inside the pool through those gaps. And to also avoid them getting stuck in the gap while trying to squeeze themselves inside the pool in your absence.
Also, apart from the California pool fence law, every other California residential swimming pool regulation such as getting a permit before building the pool, installing a pool cover, installing an exit alarm, etc, must be followed for safety purposes.
However, it is important to note that the California pool fence law is subject to change at any time. In this case, you are advised to call the appropriate authorities in your city to inquire if there are any changes in these fence laws and if there are many other things you need to know.
You can call the building department in your city or the department of health. You can even meet any licensed swimming pool constructors in your city to inquire from them. Note that the pool builders must be in your city to be able to know the exact pool fence law of your city.
Final Thought
A word they say is enough for the wise. It is better to know the California pool fence law, follow them, and do not miss anyone. Ensure the fence is a minimum of 5 feet height with a gate that opens outwards. These laws are for your safety and the safety of all the children that will be using the pool.
