When fences are good for the neighbours

Posted Feb 23, 2012 By EMC News

A dip in the backyard pool is a summer ritual for thousands of city residents.

Jumping in the water for a little tomfoolery or maybe to swim a few lengths is a mental distraction. It's natural that while having fun, we don't spend time mulling over the risks associated with the activity.

But back on dry land it's worth considering the dry facts.

The city issues as many as 900 permits for new pool enclosures each year. The permit system and associated bylaws are there to prevent tragedies.

Residents with outdoor pools must install fences that keep neighbouring children out of the water.

The city is now considering an upgrade to that requirement. New rules being considered would require fences to be designed so they are more difficult to climb. Gates leading to the pool will have to be kept locked.

The greatest change being discussed would see all new pool enclosures separate the pool from the house.

Today a young child living next door to a pool has physical barriers keeping them from wandering into danger. By adding a requirement for fencing between pool owners' homes and their own pools will be seen by some as intrusive, but the payoff will come in lives no longer lost to drownings.

Too often young children end up in pools, dead or close to it. A fence seems a small price to pay.

Sometimes it's a child who lives in the home who ends up out of sight for mere moments, only to be found floating in the backyard pool. In Ottawa we've seen children drowned while visiting the home of family or family friends.

Seeing a distraught father taking an axe to a pool after losing a young son can quickly convince a bystander that tighter rules can save lives.

The intrusive aspect of four-sided pool enclosures should be measured against other safety legislation we have come to accept. Many years ago, when the province required people in cars to wear seat belts, some may have grumbled about their freedom, but we adapted. Motoring deaths have dropped because we follow the law.

The new "four-sided" requirement will not force existing pool owners to upgrade, but all of them should consider doing so.

Existing pools may be grandfathered, but if you want to be a grandparent one day, a complete enclosure could be the answer.