New Pool Owner Water Safety Checklist

Get the barriers, gear, rules, and swim skills in place before the first swim

WaterWiseKids.com — Free water safety education for families

Work through it before anyone gets in — then keep it posted by the pool.

Pool installed / opened:

Home address (for 911):

Pump shut-off location:

Emergency contact #:

Barriers First: Fence & Gate

Four-sided isolation fence — separates the pool from the house AND the yard, so a child cannot walk straight to the water. A yard-only fence does not count.
At least 4 feet high, no footholds — vertical bars less than 4 inches apart, nothing climbable, no furniture nearby to boost over.
Self-closing, self-latching gate — swings shut and latches on its own, opens away from the pool, latch high and out of a child's reach.
Check local codes & permits — confirm your fence and gate meet local barrier requirements for a residential pool.

Door & window alarms — on every house opening that faces the pool, so you hear it the instant a child heads outside.
Gate alarm — signals when the pool gate opens, even if the self-latch works.
Pool surface / immersion alarm — a backstop that sounds when the water is disturbed. Never a primary defense.
ASTM-compliant safety cover — holds a child's weight; a flimsy solar or leaf cover does not and can be a hazard.

VGB-compliant drain covers — get written confirmation from your builder that anti-entrapment covers are on every drain. Never swim with a missing, cracked, or loose cover.
Know the pump shut-off — learn where and how to cut pump power fast in an emergency.
Store chemicals locked & dry — away from children; follow label directions exactly.
Keep water clear — you should always see the main drain at the deep end. Cloudy water hides a struggling swimmer.

Assign a Water Watcher — one adult, no phone, no distractions, watching the water. Trade off every 15-20 minutes.
Touch supervision for little ones — non-swimmers and weak swimmers within arm's reach the whole time.
Reaching pole & ring buoy poolside — mounted where anyone can grab them fast.
Life jackets for non-swimmers — U.S. Coast Guard-approved and sized by weight, not water wings or inflatable toys.
911 & address posted, phone charged — every supervising adult knows what to say and where to point help.

Enroll in swim lessons — a new pool at home is the best reason to start. Get to the wall, roll to a back float, control breathing.
Practice floating in a life jacket — let non-swimmers feel how it holds them up.
Teach "reach or throw, don't go" — kids call an adult and hand or toss something to a struggling swimmer, never jump in.
Know the layers — swim skills back up barriers and supervision; no single layer is enough on its own.

The pool is "open" the moment it holds water — most home-pool drownings happen during non-swim times when adults assume it's off-limits.
Layers, not guarantees — fence, alarms, supervision, life jackets, and swim skills work together. No single layer is enough.
Learn CPR — every adult who supervises should know child and adult CPR.
Re-check barriers regularly — a gate that stops self-latching or an alarm with a dead battery is no protection at all.