Pool Hazards and Pool Construction

Numerous issues need to be considered before building residential pools: location of overhead power lines, installation and maintenance of ground fault circuit interrupters, electrical system grounding, electrical wiring sizing, location of the pool, and type of vegetation near the pool. The commonly used solar covers that rest on the surface of the pool and amplify sunlight do an excellent job of increasing the pool temperature, and they also increase the risk for drowning. If children or pets fall in and sink below the cover, it can be nearly impenetrable if they attempt to surface under it.

Winterizing the pool also can be hazardous. The pool water in most belowground pools is seldom drained because of groundwater pressure that can damage the structure of the pool. Therefore, water in most home pools is only lowered below the frost line for winter protection. In these cases, a pool cover is installed to keep debris and leaves from filling the pool in the winter months. The pool cover becomes an excellent mosquito-breeding area before the pool is reopened in the spring because of the decomposing vegetation that is on the pool cover, the rain that accumulates on the top of the pool cover during the winter, and the eggs laid on the pool cover in early fall and early spring. The cover also provides ideal conditions for mosquitoes to breed: stagnant water, protection from wind that can sink floating eggs, the near absence of predators, and warm water created by the pool cover collecting heat just below the surface.

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