Each year, there are hundreds of swimming pool related injuries and deaths caused from improperly designed or maintained pools and equipment. Here are some guidelines that I hope will help in keeping you and your family safe this summer. Safety barriers. Designed to keep small children from entering the pool area, safety fences and gates need to be installed to certain specifications. The fencing surrounding the pool access area needs to be at least 48 inches in height, any horizontal members should be on the pool side of the fence, vertical members should not exceed 1-3/4 inches apart and all (1 comments)