does the new law on enclosures / protection for swimming pools apply to

[Blade]

other water features such as a big water collecting tank that we have - it is about 2 or 3 metres deep and takes all of the rain water from one of our barns which is adjacent to our house? thanks in advance for any advice.

[Wendy]

Hi Blade, I ve been reading  all the commentary about these new pool laws and Id like to add my bit. I come from Australia where pools are a common addition to a home - not an accessory. We HAD the highest rate of child drownings in the world UNTIL it became law for everyone with a pool, tank, pond or dam, to fence it in. High, vertical fencing, no rungs, horizontal bars or hedges allowed for a child to get a foothold on.  A tank of water or a hole in the ground, be it a pool or a pond, is a potential death trap. Yes, parents are responsible for supervising their own children but accidents will always happen and a pool is a most tempting thing for a child.  Personally we have decided not to build a pool for our auberge and we have filled in the old fish pond. . Parents, everywhere, are not as diligent as they should be and, to tell you the truth,  Ive seen a child pulled blue and unconscious from a water hole. Use common sense and take all the measures you can.

[Poolguy]

Blade

At present the law does not require you to fence your tank.

I am not a lawyer and so cannot give you a legal opinion. However in my view

the law of 'due diligence' would certainly be evoked should a child (or anyone

else for that matter) fall into your tank and drown as they were unable to

climb out. You would not be fined but certainly prosecuted I would guess. In

the eyes of the law I am certain that your tank should have a lit on it or

rendered impossible for any person to fall in. I can only suggest that you

might explore those type of measures even if you not required under the

'Raffarin Law' to install a security device.

I might applaud your foresight to recoup the rain water nevertheless, as it

will become vital this year as the water restriction now in place will remain

and become wider reaching and more strict. Anyone with a pool should be taking

what measures they can to stock water to top up their pool as its will be

forbidden in more than half of France to do so from the tap very soon.

Wen

Thanks for your input, its heartening that France is gradually coming into line

with exemplar countries such as Australia which has had this law (stricter

version) for more than 30 years.

Andrew

[Wendy]

Thanks Andrew, yes, well, Ive just read that in the last 24 hours yet another toddler has drowned in a pool in Australia and this child could swim it seemed. This time at his grandmothers property and the pool was only partially fenced. He slipped out while they all slept in.a  Anyway, with regards to water tanks, Ive seen the type, very common in Australia,  where the tanks are set very high up on towers and they are too high to be tempting for a child to try to climb. I'm talking 12-13 feet up at least. And they are enclosed as well. Enclosing them also stops any birds ending up in your water supply.

[bakerino]

Andrew

 

Are you saying you can collect rain water to put into your pool.  Sorry for being so thick.

[chirpy]

where do you think the rain goes when it falls directly into your pool?unless it is always under cover you have free top up.seriously it is clean and free of any man made additives apart from what it picks up from the air and this is negligible unless you live next to a chemicalplant etc.

the chance of filling a new pool by this method is very difficult if it with a liner that should beinstalled and filled within a few days-i had this problem and had 2 giant paddling pools to fill before a liner could be installed as i only had well water with insufficint capacity to fill 60000 litre in 2-3 days.

[bakerino]

Now I really feel stupid   

 

I'll go and get back under the stone I crawled our from