By Hank Ozzy
Swimming pools are great aren’t they! There is no better way to cool down and to relax if the weather is hot or after a hard week’s work, speaking for those of course that don’t use their pool for exercise. However great they might be, they still need to adhere to certain standards monitored by Baulkham Hills local authority, with the aim of ensuring safety.
Why?
Mainly for safety reasons and following historic accidents, legislation is in place that includes a set of criteria designed to maintain safety for you, your guests and or your neighbours. It would be easy to assume that our pools are safe, but past events have shown that with a little extra care potential accident have been avoided when it comes to pets, children and of course, yourself the owner.
Where?
The rules apply to any swimming pool, whether they be on residential land or Business premisses, anything deemed to be a pool or spa. They are subject to pool inspections in Baulkham Hills and the local authority may even charge a fine if your pool or surrounding safety features don’t meet the guidelines.
How?
If an inspection is carried out, then the inspector will be looking at things such as possible trip hazards when getting into or out of the pool, overgrown vegetation or vegetation that may pose an obstruction risk of some kind. The fencing and equipment that are within the fencing must also be inspected to ensure that the fence is the correct height and that the equipment isn’t going to cause any future injury.
When?
At any time, unfortunately, all it takes is for a random check or perhaps somebody that has seen something that they don’t like and makes an anonymous call to the authority to get the concern checked out. There may not be a set schedule and it might catch you completely by surprise.
What?
What can you do? A few things actually, you could check the guidelines for your area and do an inspection of your own or better still, you could contact one of the local pool inspection companies who can come at a convenient time to carry out an inspection for you. They can then let you know if there are any areas you need to address, at least that way you would be fully covered should a government inspector show up.
It might seem like another box ticking exercise, but if you value either your wallet, your children or your pet’s safety then it’s kind of a no-brainer.
