There are 7,376 public pools and spas in Orange County and to date, 3,451 have submitted paperwork to prove they’re in compliance with the new safety regulations being implemented under the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act.

But a man from Seal Beach with two autistic children who checked out the “safety improvements” made at the pool and spa of his Rossmoor Park condo complex ended up getting stuck on a spa drain. Tim McIntyre however, managed to extricate himself but ended up with welts at the area which was sucked by the drain.

Under the new pool rules which are applicable to every public pool in America, whether it is from the homeowners association or apartment complex or hotel or gym or school, anti-entrapment drain covers should be installed. Likewise, if pools have a single drain, an automatic pump shut off system, a safety vacuum release system or any suction-limiting release system are required to be installed.

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act was passed in honor of the 7-year old granddaughter of former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker III. Virginia died in 2002 when she drowned after being trapped by the strong suction of a hot tub drain.

Abigail Taylor, a 6 year old girl from Minnesota was severely injured when she sat on a pool drain and its powerful suction ripped out part of her intestinal tract through her rectum along with her pancreas and liver. She later died 9 months after and her family filed suit against the pool manufacturer and the Minneapolis Golf Club.

McIntyre’s experiment however, showed that the new installations opted by some pool management such as the so-called “unblockable” drains are not that safe on its own and would still need that second-tier of anti-entrapment/anti-suction devices.

Parents and even pool owners and managers should be mindful of the new safety rules being implemented because nearly 300 children under the age of five drown in residential and public pools and spas each year.

While swimming is not dangerous, poorly maintained or unsafely designed swimming pools can cause accidents and children are especially vulnerable to getting badly injured or killed in pools. Children should always have adult supervision when they are in a place with a pool and pool owners and managers have the duty to make sure that their pools and spas are safe because otherwise, they are potentially facing a lot of personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits from victims.