Cheap Pools Can Cost You

When Steve Randall of Parma New York bought a swimming pool last June, he thought he was getting a deal - $200 for a backyard swimming pool. Two weeks after setting up the inflatable pool, though, his local building inspector told Randall he had to install a fence and a dedicated electric circuit for the pool filter.

Nearly $900 later, the pool is now legal, according to town and state codes. "I understand that it's the law," said Randall, 36. "I just wish I'd known it would cost so much ahead of time. I wouldn't have bought the pool and permanently altered my yard."

Growing in popularity, the inflatable or metal- or plastic-framed pools can be found at discount stores, department stores and even home improvement and drugstores. "People are buying those pools like crazy," said Leo Carroll, director of technical services in Greece, New York. "They are easy to put up and easy to take down and are inexpensive."

They're becoming increasingly elaborate - some as large as 18 feet around and 4 feet tall - with ladders, pool covers and even filtration systems. The pools offer their owners a seemingly cheap and easy alternative to hiring a contractor to install an above-ground or in-ground pool. Small inflatable pools, about 2 feet deep, can cost as little as $50, and larger pools, up to 4 feet deep and 18 feet wide, can cost less than $200.

But as Randall found out, setting up a backyard pool can be a lot more complicated - and expensive - than it looks. Certain state and local laws require that swimming pools 2 to 4 feet tall be surrounded by a 4-foot-tall fence with self-closing, self-latching gates.

That requirement catches most pool buyers off guard. Store advertisements show photos of families playfully enjoying their new pool, but absent from the photos are any sort of barrier around the pool. A disclaimer can be found on the pool packaging, telling consumers to consult local municipalities for laws regarding fencing and safety requirements. But because portable pools are such an increasingly common sight - usually without a fence - Randall said consumers who even notice the disclaimer at all may think that their town doesn't enforce requirements.

"Not quite," he said.

Drowning danger

The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 17 drowning deaths nationwide involving inflatable pools in 2005, up from nine in 2004 and 10 in 2003. "Parents need to understand any pool poses a drowning risk," agency Chairman Hal Stratton said. "Consider the danger of water before investing in an inflatable pool."

About once a year, a child age 10 or younger drowns in Monroe County, according to Monroe County Health Director Dr. Andrew Doniger. From 1999 to 2003, two children drowned in swimming pools, but county data did not specify what types of pools were involved in the incidents. "Accidents happen," Carroll said. "And people don't always realize the risk involved with owning any kind of swimming pool. The amount of water in a pool isn't a problem, it's the accessibility to the water."

Parents typically watch their own children in a pool, said Jim Bailey, a building inspector for Perinton, New York. But when they set up portable swimming pools, they don't always think that neighboring children could access the pool when no one is around. A toddler or young child can slip away from family members at a backyard barbecue and into a nearby yard with a pool. Within moments, a child could quietly fall into a pool if it is not surrounded with an appropriate barrier, Bailey said.

"These pools are a very big concern of mine. It only takes a few inches (of water) to drown."

Education effort

Safety advocates and town officials suggest portable pool owners surround them with layers of barriers - fencing with self-closing and self-latching gates, to cover the pool when it is not in use and alarms for doors and gates around the pool. "I was a bit naive and didn't realize that you needed a permit to put up those pools," said Grace Martella, 47, of Webster, New York. She purchased a portable pool in 2003, and her three children swam in it throughout the summer. Since a fence already surrounded her yard, Martella said she didn't install an additional barrier around her pool.

In some cases, an existing fence will meet state and local requirements, but that's not guaranteed. Requirements are based on the pool's size. Martella's family has since installed a larger above-ground pool with the required barriers and locking gates. To educate residents, Greece officials distribute brochures on pool safety at Town Hall and monitor pool sales at local stores. Code compliance inspectors also monitor swimming pools in Greece to ensure that all pools in the town have been properly permitted and installed, Carroll said. Greece officials found more than 15 pools that did not meet town guidelines in June, Carroll said. That's nearly half as many as they cited for improperly installing portable pools for all of last summer. Those residents either added appropriate fencing or removed the pool, he said.

Randall said he complied with the law because he wanted his children to swim in a safe environment. But if he could do it again, he'd skip the plan for a portable pool and go for a traditional above-ground model. Rather than impose a fine, Perinton building inspector Jim Bailey said, he prefers to educate and help residents create a safe pool environment. But if people don't comply, they're breaking the law and will face consequences that, in Perinton, include a $350 per day fine or even jail time. Penalties vary from town to town.

"We're concerned about public safety," he said. "We just want to make it a safe community."

Reprinted with permission from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle (www.DemocratandChronicle.com) and the author, Victoria Freile (vfreile@democratandchronicle.com)