Swimming pool safety requirements, guidelines, and best practices

(Updated 6 January 2025)

There are regulations pertaining to safety ‘in and around’ swimming pools that relate to private swimming pools. Swimming pools that are situated in the grounds of a sectional title/community living scheme would be deemed private as they are for the specific use of owners/occupants and invited guests only.

For purposes of this article, we reference content from National Building Regulations (NBR) – SABS 0400-1990 Part D (Public Safety) DD4 and also SANS 10134:2008, which has been updated in more recent years (2018) to reflect more stringent safety standards – ‘The safeness of private swimming pools’.

In digesting these regulations, requirements and guidelines, it is very clear that the core purpose of these are to prevent the accidental drowning (injury or death) of vulnerable persons, primarily young children under age of seven years, by preventing unauthorised and/or unsupervised access to swimming pools.    

Here is a part summary format of NBR as applies to swimming pools:

1. Access control – “The owner of any property with a swimming pool (deeper than 30 cm/300 mm) shall ensure, by means of a wall or fence, that no person can gain access to the pool from any street, public space or adjoining property, other than through a self-closing and self-latching gate that can be locked. Buildings may form part of such wall, provided that access is limited accordingly.” For added safety/security, a gate may have a foot latch and ideally that opens inwardly.
2. Fence requirements – “The wall or fence and any such gate therein shall not be less than 1,2m high from ground level and shall not contain any opening large enough to allow an object (e.g. a ball) measuring 100mm in diameter to pass through.”

Further expanded and updated safety guidelines for owners/occupiers in terms of SANS, in summary format as follows:

1. Over and above NBR above, pools must not only be enclosed, but also have a certified pool cover or safety net that should be installed by reputable and qualified professional manufacturers/suppliers only. These covers/safety nets should also prevent any object larger than 100mm in diameter from passing through and must be able to support a weight of between 125 – 225 kg, depending on the pool size.
2. Ensure competent adult supervision at the swimming pool enclosure, whenever the gate is not locked.
3. Stipulate that children may not use the swimming pool during absence of such competent adult supervision, unless under their own parental care.
4. Prominently display complete emergency instructions (with relevant telephone numbers) and other related procedures near the swimming pool.
5. Provide a suitable rescue device at close proximity to the swimming pool edge, with which a non-swimmer can pull a distressed child/person to safety.
6. Ensure that objects (e.g. deck chairs, umbrella stands wheelbarrows etc.) onto which a child could climb so to scale the enclosure, are not left unattended in the vicinity of the swimming pool.
7. Keep a regular check on the condition and operation of the swimming pool enclosure structures and mechanisms as per NBR above.
8. Keep swimming pool area free of obstructions and items or structures with sharp edges or projections that could cause injury to persons/children.

Further recommendations as could/should be applied to rules governing the safety around a community use swimming pool, but not limited to, the following:

1. No glass bottles or containers to be permitted in the swimming pool area.
2. If the pool has a deep end, the deep end should be noted with a depth marker.
3. No diving or bombing permitted.
4. No running allowed around the swimming pool edge.