New Pool Drain Covers Mandated Nationwide By Friday
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Beginning Saturday, pools and spas that do not have the required anti-drowning drain covers could be forced to close down. The improved safety system was passed by Congress last year and pool and spa owners had a year to comply.
The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act is aimed at keeping kids safer.
She was the 7-year-old granddaughter of former Secretary of State James A. Baker. Graeme, as she was called, was sucked into a spa drain in 2002. Despite a number of adults trying to pull her off, the suction kept her under and she drowned.
Her mother, Nancy Baker says at least the lives of other children can be saved. "This legislation helps give meaning to the tragic circumstances that took her life and the lives of many other children,” Baker said. “It is a tribute to these children and their grieving families that this bill will prevent injuries and death as a result of drowning. Graeme would be honored."
Most adults don’t realize that the bottom of a pool and spa is a hidden hazard for children. At least one person dies each year because of the 400 to 500 pounds of forceful suction of a flat drain in a single-drain pool.
Safe Kids Worldwide , a nonprofit group estimates that 33 kids died in Americans swimming pools under the age of 14 between 1985 and 2004. Drowning is the second-leading cause of accidental injury-related death among children ages 1-14.
The replacement will be a domed shape drain that minimizes the pull in a single area. However the Consumer Product Safety Commission had expected Congress to issue $7 million for enforcement. Since that hasn’t happened, the feds will be relying on the states to make sure pools are in compliance.
The National Swimming Pool Foundation, estimates that about 80 percent of public pools are spas are not in compliance and may have to close.
It’s not cheap to install the new drain covers – from at least $1,000 to $15,000 to install multiple drains, or no drains at all. That won’t matter. The CPSC plans to crack down on violators. The legislation also bans the manufacture, sale or distribution of drain covers that don’t meet the anti-entrapment standards and requires public pools to have additional layers of protection.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., was a champion of the legislation in Congress, but the industry fought her earlier efforts.
The industry has known for a long time they were putting out a dangerous product. Common sense would dictate that a drain cover with suction strong enough to hold down an adult, gives children no fighting chance at all. No child should have ever lost their life to this dangerous and defective product design. #