If you have a pool on your urbanisation and there are more than 20 properties there are a number of important rules and regulations you need to comply with, one of the most contentious and costly being pool fencing.
The Junta de Andalucia specifies a number of regulations including:
Children’s Pools for use for children under six should be no deeper than 40cm in depth and not contain gradients of more than 10% per meter. These pools should be totally separate from other pools so the children cannot access adult pool areas.
There should be pool ladders every 15 meters around the pool, they should not protrude from the wall, be made from stainless steel, fixed at a height to allow easy climbing, but must not reach to the bottom of the pool.
There should be as many life buoys as there are pool ladders, placed in visible and easy to access locations. Each one needs to have a rope which is at least half the maximum width of the pool, plus three meters.
Lifeguards are required for all pools over 200m2, pools over 500m2 should have two lifeguards and there are more requirements for larger pools, but which wouldn’t normally apply to an urbanization pool.
In terms of fencing the rules state that – When the pool is not in use, at night and in the off season, prominent signage must be in place together with a barrier which is lockable or equipped with a safety cover to prevent access. The cheapest and easiest way to do this is with a strong wire fence, but this can be very unattractive and ruin the appeal of the pool and many communities resist it.
However there is no doubt about the severity of penalties, AdvaSol a local pool specialist says on their website that if a drowning occurs within a community pool that “the urbansiation may be fined up to 600,000 euros and the pool closed for up to 5 years. Additionally, the Community President (responsible for compliance) could be personally sued by the family of the victim and insurance may be invalidated”.
This is a very sensitive subject and something which many owners can resist changing due to costs and the detrimental effect that it can have on the way the pool area looks, but Community Presidents need to take responsibility for pushing difficult decisions through. Perhaps run a poll on your community website prior to the next meeting to establish people’s views on the best solution to any problems so that you can go armed with the views of the community.
The full list of Junta de Andalucia Swimming Pool requirements can be found on AngloInfo.