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SALT LAKE CITY -- New federal regulations require all public pools and hot tubs to have safety measures that prevent children from being entrapped by the drain. Many Utah pools, however, are not in compliance.
It's safe to say parents should be on guard anytime they take kids to the pool, but when you see what the old drains are capable of, you'll want to know whether your neighborhood pool has been retrofitted to help your family stay safe.
To demonstrate the suction force of some drains, an NBC News team put a toy on top of a drain, and three men couldn't pull it off.
"All a kid has to do is lay across this and he's sucked down, held down and possibly drowns," said Rolf Larsen, a water quality supervisor.
Inspectors in Salt Lake and all Utah counties are working to help public pools comply with the new regulations.
We checked with the largest county health districts and found Washington County is about 90 percent retrofitted. Weber-Morgan sits at 85 percent, while Utah County falls at 70 percent. Salt Lake County is just 50 percent retrofitted.
Health officials say part of the problem is parts needed to replace drain covers and systems aren't readily available. "Because it was a federal mandate, all of the sudden everybody in the country wanted these parts," said Teresa Gray with the Salt Lake Valley Health Department. "Some of the parts aren't even designed for the way the pools are operated."
At the South Davis Recreation Center, two pools show drains with green dots, which on this system mean approved. One is still waiting a custom drain. Aquatic Director Scott McDonald says parents shouldn't be alarmed.
"I don't think for this type of pool, for newer pools, they were built with fairly strict standards set in place already," he said.
Still, parents should know what to look for. A single drain that lies flush with the bottom of the pool could pose a hazard. The safer drains sit above the bottom of the pool and are designed to prevent strong suction.
Officials say when in doubt, ask the pool operator or hotel if the pool complies with the new federal standards.
E-mail: dwimmer@ksl.com
