Boston is a city that has an incredible cultural scene, and is one of the intellectual centres of the country. With the city being situated on the Atlantic Ocean, you may feel a bit nervous about swimming in the ocean. A great alternative is to swim in your own residential pool. However, before indulging in a swim, it’s important to review some of the laws with private pools and see if you need to make any changes.

There isn’t much information available from the City of Boston on their specific residential pool laws, but it wouldn’t hurt to check with the city council and make sure that you are meeting all of the requirements.

Alongside meeting the city requirements, you must also comply with state regulations. For residential swimming pools, this includes having a fence or fence around the swimming pool. The fence needs to be at least 4 feet tall, with only 2 inches of space at the bottom of the fence. There are different specifications whether the fence is solid or whether it has openings, but if it is solid, you need to make sure that there are no indentations. If the fence has openings (like in a chain-linked fence), the specifications will vary depending on what type of opening the fence has.

As always, make sure that the fence’s gate has the ability to be locked, and that it is also self-closing and self-latching. Also, some families may build the fence around the pool so that one of the sides of their house counts as a side of the fence. This is fine, as long as the door from the house to the outside contains an alarm or the pool is fitted with some sort of safety cover when it’s not in use. All of these regulations surrounding swimming pools (which include the three types of swimming pools as well as hot tubs and spas) are put into place to keep city residents safer and out of harm’s way.

As state law specifies about needing a pool cover in certain building situations, you may be wondering what the best product would be. One of the best products you can use is our own Katchakid pool safety net. The net was developed by our CEO Blair Esson after he witnessed a small child die from drowning in a pool which could have been a preventable death. Therefore we developed a product that is fitted over the pool and has incredible strength and tension to hold a child in case they were to fall over. This kind of product would give any parent peace of mind, and is a great investment if you own a residential swimming pool. No child has ever drowned in a pool protected by a correctly installed Katchakid safety net. Our pool nets are reliable and durable, even in the most extreme weather conditions in Boston.

So as temperatures rise in Boston and summer nears, take advantage of the great weather and swim. But remember to be safe while you’re having fun, and review the laws now and again so that you protect yourself and your family to the best of your ability. When it comes to pool safety, contact us today to learn more about our safety nets, pool fences and covers.