Washington County, UT Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing & Safety Requirements (2026)

Section 10-15B-6(B), part of the county's Fences for Recreation Use chapter adopted under Ordinance 2024-1271-O on September 17, 2024, requires an impassible fence, wall, barrier or structure as defined in the applicable building code around every in-ground swimming pool, hot tub, or similar pool that is not already enclosed or covered by a safety cover. The barrier standard defers to the building code's definition of impassible, or to whatever alternative barrier design the Planning Commission approves, giving the county discretion to accept non-standard fencing case by case rather than locking every pool into one fence style.

Above-ground pools do not automatically escape the rule: if the pool is anchored to the ground, or has decking or a walking surface at or above the water level, effectively turning it into a walk-up hazard like an in-ground pool, it must meet the same fencing requirement. Only temporary or portable swimming and wading pools, the kind that can be drained and put away, are exempt from fencing altogether. The pool barrier rule sits alongside § 10-15B-6(A), which allows a taller, 12-foot chain-link fence along rear or interior side property lines specifically to enclose a court game area or swimming pool, and § 10-15B-6(C), which separately requires a minimum six-foot fence around ponds, canals, or ditches the Planning Commission finds hazardous.

Pool barriers, unlike ordinary yard fences, are not capped at six feet by § 10-15B-3, since the recreation-use exception in § 10-15B-6 controls for pools specifically.