Owners of pools built before November 2010 have two years to meet Quebec’s Residential Swimming Pool Safety Regulations.
The province’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has announced pools built before that timeline will have to meet the regulations after previously having exemptions.
According to a CBC report, the changes were made based on a recommendation from several provincial coroners to reduce the risk of children drowning.
Some the measures pool owners must meet include:
- All pools must be equipped with a ladder or steps;
- Residential swimming pools must be equipped with a protective fence of at least 1.2 m (3.9 ft) on all sides, with a door that closes and locks automatically;
- All devices linked to the pool’s operation must be installed more than 1 m (3.3 ft) from the pool wall or the enclosure; and
- A wall forming part of any enclosure must not have an opening; and a hedge or bushes do not constitute an enclosure.
Pools installed after July 1, 2021 will also need to meet the new regulations unless the contract to build was signed before and the construction is planned by Oct. 1, 2021.
Stricter rules for new pools include chain link fences with a mesh size of more than 30 mm (1.2 in.) and no structures or fixed equipment that could be used to climb the wall of a swimming pool or enclosure should be within 1 m (3.3 ft) of the pool.
Also, swimming pools with a diving board must meet standards aimed at preventing spinal cord injuries due to diving accidents, and no widows on a house should be situated within 1 m (3.3 ft) of a pool or enclosure (unless a minimum height of 3 m [9.9 ft] or having a maximum opening of 100 mm [3.3 in.).
