Resident wants to tighten
swimming pool ordinance
By sandi carpello
Staff Writer
MILLTOWN — In response to recent news of drownings or near-drownings of toddlers, a community activist is urging local officials to consider ways of making swimming a safer activity for youngsters in the borough.
Jim Knox, a resident of Albert Avenue, has informed borough officials that he discovered loopholes in Milltown’s swimming pool ordinance, and he has provided the Borough Council with several recommendations to improve the safety and sanitation of swimming pools.
Knox’s concern with the safety of young children was heightened by the tragic death of a 3-year-old Jamesburg girl in a backyard swimming pool there earlier this month, and the near drowning of a 4-year-old East Brunswick boy last week.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, approximately 300 toddlers drown every year.
Knox informed the council that the borough needs a more enforceable swimming pool ordinance.
"There are five (privately owned) wading pools (in Milltown) that are unattended," he said. "A toddler can easily fall into a pool."
Knox proposed that all wading pools, which by definition is a pool with less than 1,000 gallons of water and a water depth of less than 24 inches, be covered when not in use. According to Knox, this will make the pool inaccessible to a toddler. Knox also suggested that if a wading pool is in use for 48 hours or more, it should be surrounded by a fence.
Water sanitation was also an issue in the proposal. During the summer months, Knox, who is a retired sanitation worker in the borough, recommended that the Board of Health take a monthly sample of water from all borough swimming pools for testing. If the water is unsafe for swallowing by a swimmer, then it should be changed, he said.
In addition, he proposed that water in wading pools should be changed every 24 hours. Water should not be used from week to week, he said in his report to the borough.
Mayor Gloria Bradford publicly thanked Knox for his suggestions, and issued a caution advisory on swimming to local Cable TV Channel 71.
The mayor plans to forward the proposed amendments to the ordinance to the borough attorney and the Board of Health.