Columbia, SC Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Sec. 5-1 requires every outdoor swimming pool to be 'completely enclosed by a barrier meeting the requirements' set out in the section. The barrier's top must stand at least 48 inches above grade on the side facing away from the pool, and the maximum vertical clearance between grade and the bottom of the barrier is two inches on that same side; where the pool structure itself rises above grade, the barrier may sit on top of the structure with up to a four-inch gap beneath it.

No opening anywhere in the barrier may allow the passage of a four-inch diameter sphere. Solid barriers cannot have indentations or protrusions beyond normal construction tolerances. For barriers built of horizontal and vertical members, spacing rules shift with the horizontal spacing: where the tops of horizontal members are less than 45 inches apart, the horizontal members must face the pool side and vertical member spacing (including decorative cutouts) cannot exceed 1 3/4 inches; at 45 inches or more, vertical spacing may open up to four inches.

Chain-link fences are capped at a 2 1/4-inch mesh unless slats reduce the opening to 1 3/4 inches, and diagonal-member barriers cap openings at 1 3/4 inches. Access gates must take a locking device; pedestrian gates must swing away from the pool, close themselves and latch themselves, and if the latch release sits less than 54 inches up, it must be on the pool side at least three inches below the gate top with no opening over half an inch within 18 inches of the release.

The rule is not retroactive: it does not apply to an existing outdoor pool already fully enclosed by an existing fence, wall, screen or other barrier.