HOW
DANGEROUS
CAN A POOL
DRAIN BE?
POOLS AND SPAS ARE
DESIGNED FOR FUN. AND
OFTEN, UNINTENTIONALLY,
FOR DISASTER.
Drowning is second only to car
crashes as the leading cause
of unintentional death among
children. How many times
have you heard, “I only
turned away for a few seconds…”? Often,
that’s all the time it takes for children to
find themselves in a deadly situation.
POOL DRAINS: THE GREAT
UNKNOWN DANGER.
The dangers in and around pools go beyond
the obvious. Too many people are entrapped
by drains – drains that are improperly
maintained, or have faulty covers. Hair,
jewelry or limbs can get tangled in the drain,
or body parts suctioned to it. The force of
suction – hundreds of pounds per square inch –
is so powerful that the strongest adults can’t
free the victim. Even good swimmers can
drown or suffer catastrophic injuries.
THE STORIES ARE HORRIFIC.
Virginia Graeme Baker, seven years old, a
swim-team champ, drowned in a spa. Zach
Cohn, who became entrapped in his family’s
backyard pool and neither his dad nor anyone
else had the strength to free him. And Abbey
Taylor, a six-year-old playing in a public wading
pool, who literally had her internal organs ripped
out and eventually died from her injuries.
This could have
been prevented
with an inexpensive
anti-entrapment
pool drain cover
and safety vacuum
release system.
DEADLY
DANGEROUS.
DON’T LET
ABBEY’S
HOPE GO
DOWN
THE DRAIN.
In 2007, six-year-old Abbey Taylor
died as a result of injuries received
from an improperly maintained drain
in a wading pool.
She endured nine months of
hospitalizations and surgeries including
a liver, small bowel and pancreas
transplant. Abbey’s hope was that
no child would have to suffer as she
did as the result of a foreseeable and
preventable entrapment or drowning.
In her name, Abbey’s Hope
Charitable Foundation works fiercely
and passionately to raise awareness
and educate parents, families, and
pool and spa owners/operators about
how to safeguard kids in and around
pools, spas and open bodies of water.
IS YOUR POOL DRAIN SAFE?
The Virginia Graeme Baker Act requires that
all public pools now meet anti-entrapment
standards, as must all new drain covers on the
market. Unfortunately, not all public pools are
in compliance, and private pools and spas still
pose great hazards, especially for children.
DANGEROUS
Flat Drain Covers
SAFE
Dome-Shaped
Anti-Entrapment
Drain Covers
FOUR STEPS
TO SAFER POOLS.
BE A WATER
WATCHDOG.
1. Avoid dangerous drains
Watch for non-compliant, loose, missing or
broken drain covers. If you spot one, don’t
enter the pool or spa and notify the owner/
operator immediately. Before swimming, tie
up long hair securely or wear a swim cap to
help prevent entanglement. Warn children to
stay away from drains and other openings to
avoid entrapment.
2. Teach swimming
& lifesaving skills
Knowing how to swim well is essential.
Make sure your children can swim, float,
tread water and get in and out of the pool
safely. Take classes in First Aid and CPR
(for infants, children and adults) and have
an emergency plan.
3. Install barriers
Every pool needs an isolation fence
surrounding it on all sides – four to five feet
high. Gates should be self-latching and locking.
Keep spas and hot tubs covered and locked
when not in use.
4. Be vigilant
Make sure an adult is watching children in the
pool or spa at all times. Don’t assume kids
are OK just because they can swim. Use the
Water Watchdog system to divide supervision
responsibilities. Encourage children to exercise
good water judgment and follow pool rules.
When children are in or near the pool, use
a Water Watchdog Tag to designate one adult
to be a Water Watchdog. (Yes, even in pools
where lifeguards are present! Drowning is
silent and can happen very, very quickly.)
As a Water Watchdog,
you agree to:
• Maintain constant visual contact with the
children in your group.
• Remain by the water until you pass the
Water Watchdog Tag onto another adult
who agrees to supervise the children.
• Keep a phone near the water for
emergencies.
• Refrain from drinking alcohol or socializing
while on duty.
• Refrain from engaging in other poolside
activities like talking on the phone, texting
or reading.
Learn more about becoming a
Water Watchdog at our website.
abbeyshope.org