Pool Safety Tips and Resources

Summer is round the corner and this means pool season! While backyard swimming pools offer fantastic fun for families, they can also pose a serious threat to young children. In fact, drowning is one of the leading causes of death for Australian children under 5 years of age.

The City is raising awareness about the importance of maintaining the safety of backyard pools and are encouraging the local community to take 10 minutes to check and maintain their pool gate, barrier, and its surrounds.

The City urges pool and spa owners to take 10 minutes to check and maintain their pool gate, barrier and its surrounds. Self-assessment checklists can give you a sign about whether your pool or spa barrier meets the relevant Australian Standards. There are different standards depending on when your pool was installed. To find the right self-assessment checklist, you will need to know when the pool or spa was installed. Visit the Pools and Spas page to learn more.

While active supervision is the best protection against childhood drowning, no parent can watch a young child 24 hours a day. Here are some of the common issues with pool barriers that the City’s Inspectors routinely identify:

1. Secure Your Pool

• Install self-latching gates and fences.
• Remove climbable objects around the pool area.

2. Portable Pools Matter

• Know the safety laws regarding portable pools (30cm+ deep).
• Always empty and store them properly after use.

3. Self-Assessment Checklist

• Regularly assess your pool barriers using our self-assessment checklists. Make sure your pool meets the relevant Australian Standards (link to page).

4. Active Supervision

• Keep a close eye on kids around the pool.
• Consider enrolling your child in swimming lessons for added safety.

Portable pools can also pose a safety risk, especially for children under the age of five. Even in a small portable pool with very little water, it only takes seconds for a child to drown.

Inflatable and portable pools can present a danger as they are not usually fenced and may not be completely emptied after use. Pool fencing laws apply to pools, including portable pools containing water 30cm deep or more.

Has your pool turned an unexpected shade of green? No worries, we've got you covered.

Follow these steps to transform your green pool back into a crystal-clear oasis:

1. Test your swimming pool water
   Take a sample of pool water for analysis - this will tell you exactly what the pH and chlorine levels. Take it to your local pool shop. When chlorine levels drop below 1 ppm, it can cause algae to grow in the pool, turning the pool water green.
2. Balance the pH level in the pool
   Balance the pH by adding either an acid or a base to bring the level to just around 7.8. This is at the high end of the range you would normally want in your pool, but that's necessary when you're treating it for algae.
3. Add super shock chlorine
   Next you’ll need to give your pool a shock dosing of chlorine. The stronger levels of a super shock product will quickly kill or neutralise any organic substances in your pool.
4. Clear up the water
   To get sparkling clear water, you need to loosen up the algae in your pool so it then can be easily vacuumed up. Do this by using a high potency flocculent. It will also improve the performance of your pool filter. Gain your local pool shop can help with this.
5. Kill off any algae
   In a green pool, you will need to use a high strength algaecide to effectively kill off any algae or other life floating in your pool.
6. Brush pool walls
   Brush pool walls to remove algae. Then vacuum the loosened algae from the pool floor the next day.
7. Make sure your filter is working effectively
   Pool water needs to be filtered and will not clear up very quickly if you have a filter that doesn't work properly. It doesn't matter how much shock you put in the pool if you have a poor filter.
8. Re-check chemical levels
   All chemical levels should be in the normal range.

The Canning Swim School combines fun with aquatic education. Lessons develop skills in stroke technique, personal development, and water familiarisation. Canning Swim School operates an ongoing program at both Cannington and Riverton Leisureplex out of five teaching pools across the two centres. Lessons are available 7 days a week, over 48 weeks of the year.

Enrol online today.