Every residential pool in Plymouth County must be enclosed by a barrier. The state building code, 780 CMR, requires a barrier at least 48 inches high with self-closing, self-latching gates. Towns enforce it through the building inspector.
Pool barriers are governed statewide by 780 CMR, the Massachusetts building code, enforced by each town's building inspector rather than the county. Appendix G requires any pool holding water over 24 inches deep to be surrounded by a barrier whose top is at least 48 inches above the ground on the side facing away from the pool, with gaps too small to pass a four-inch sphere. Pedestrian gates must open outward, self-close, and self-latch. The rule applies uniformly in Brockton, Plymouth, Duxbury, Marshfield, Middleborough, and Wareham; a permit and inspection come before the pool is filled.
A pool without a compliant 48-inch barrier fails inspection and the town building inspector can bar use of the pool. An uninspected or unpermitted pool draws a building-code enforcement order.
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