Be safe message to pool owners

The Council's environmental monitoring team thanks those citizens of Christchurch who took the time to return the recent survey questionnaire on the status of their swimming and/or spa pools.

The response was very good and it is considered that the exercise was worthwhile and timely, says team leader Willis Heney. The survey revealed many property records needed updating and many properties needed inspecting again. Because of this, inspections will continue for some time. The Council is committed to ensuring pool owners are made aware of their responsibilities to maintain legal pool fencing, Willis says. They are also reminded not to become complacent just because they have a fence. "The pool area must be always be safeguarded by ensuring gates are closed and there is nothing nearby that children can use to climb over."

The environmental monitoring team apologises for any inconvenience caused to pool owners who experienced a double-up, or follow up soon after already having their pools inspected.

The team didn't think the cost of sorting through the large number of records in order to remove the small percentage where a double-up would occur was warranted.