Thursday, March 22, 2012

Grand jury: San Mateo County allowed 'public' pools to stay open before making required inspections

By Bonnie Eslinger - Palo Alto Daily News Staff Writer - 03/22/2012

San Mateo County allowed hundreds of swimming pools to remain open to the public before authorities confirmed that all except for three complied with state and federal laws requiring drain covers and other safety devices to prevent drowning accidents, according to a civil grand jury report released Wednesday.

The county environmental health department's failure to make timely inspections of the pools stemmed from its "perceived low level of safety risk," a reluctance to penalize pool owners and an expectation that other counties would be lax as well, according to the grand jury report.

Although no one in the county reportedly has died or been injured by getting stuck in underwater drains, 12 fatalities and 97 injuries have been reported nationwide. All except one of the victims have been children.

"Fortunately there has not been an injury or a fatality in our county on account of this suction that has harmed other children," said Bruce MacMillan, foreman of the 19-member civil grand jury.

A federal law passed in 2007 -- the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act -- was named after a 7-year-old girl who drowned after becoming trapped underwater by the suction of a hot tub drain. The law requires anti-entrapment equipment for pools used by the general public, such as those at apartment complexes or condo developments.

In 2009, California passed its own version of the federal law. The state law required pools without the proper anti-entrapment equipment to be closed by July 1, 2010, until necessary retrofits were made, according to the grand jury report.

The law applied to pools open to the public, as well as those available to members and guests of an organization or residential building or at an athletic club or school, according to the California Department of Public Health.

San Mateo County has 1,044 "public pools" that fell under the law, according to the grand jury report. By the July 2010 deadline, about 448 of them had not been inspected or did not have the required equipment.

By the time the grand jury convened last year on July 1, the number of noncompliant pools had dropped to 47. By Sept. 30, only three did not comply, according to the grand jury.

Email Bonnie Eslinger at beslinger@dailynewsgroup.com.

1 comment:

Smile Proud said...

San Mateo Nation allowed hundreds of regularly to remain open to the public before government bodies verified that all except for three complied with state and federal laws and regulations demanding strain protects and other safety devices to prevent sinking accidents.