According to the Children Safety Network, nearly 900 children die every year in the US from drowning. Few things in life are as appealing to a child in the summer as a pool. Anyone that’s ever been around a toddler knows that they can disappear in an instant to go check out something that piques their curiosity. Keeping unsupervised children out of harms way by preventing their access to a pool is extremely important. In fact, it’s so important that most cities require pool fencing by law, including Cedar Rapids.
Pool fencing is the preferred and required method for securing a pool because unlike safety nets, fences prevent children from even getting close to the water’s edge.
In the city of City Rapids, Iowa, a pool fence is required and the fence must be a minimum of 48″ tall. The distance between the bottom rail and the ground surface must not exceed 2″ and the distance between any gaps in the fence must be less than a 4″ ball.
While chain link fencing is legal to use (though there are some special requirements), it’s not the ideal method due to it’s ease in which it can be climbed. Central Iowa Fencing typically recommends fencing that obstructs the view. Not only does this help prevent children from noticing the pool, but it also increases the overall privacy of the pool area.
Additionally, there are a number of other important considerations that must be made, including where the latch is located. The pool should have a self locking latch and should be located a minimum of 54″ from the bottom of the gate.
While not required, gates can also be outfitted with alarms as a warning for anytime the gate is accessed.
At Central Iowa Fencing, we’ve installed numerous fences around pools and our experts can answer all your questions!