Countywide : Supervisors Adopt Pool Safety Plan

The county will offer free pool inspections and other safety incentives to residents of unincorporated areas under a plan approved Tuesday to combat child drownings.

The Board of Supervisors adopted the five-point plan just three days after twin toddlers drowned in their parents’ back-yard spa in Laguna Niguel, capping a week of tragedy in Orange County. Earlier that same week, two other siblings drowned in their Garden Grove pool.

The spate of drownings “certainly underscored the importance of giving this issue a priority and calling public attention to pool safety,” said Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, who proposed the measure.

Under the plan, the county will:

* Conduct free inspection of swimming pools in unincorporated parts of the county to check for building code compliance and safety measures.

* Distribute educational pamphlets to community members and establish a county hot line ((714) 834-5728) to answer questions about pool safety.

* Waive inspection and permit fees of about $150 for residents in single-family homes who take at least two suggested safety precautions.

These include enclosing a pool entirely with a five-foot fence; installing standardized safety pool covers; using self-closing and self-latching doors from the residence to pool areas; installing alarms on residential doors to pool areas; and placing rescue equipment next to the pool.

But Al Palladino, a Garden Grove resident who has been active in the issue of child drownings, attacked the plan at Tuesday’s board meeting, calling it “a camouflage and a scam” that will do little to ease the problem.

The real answer, Palladino told the board, comes in better enforcement of existing pool restrictions.

“You don’t invite the violators to a free inspection, you invite them to a citation instead,” he said.