TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

A total of 21 pools were closed in Kern County Tuesday because they're not in compliance with a law that recently went into effect requiring the installation of drain covers that prevent entrapment.

The law went into effect July 1. Leading up to that day, inspectors checked that the 806 public pools and spas the Kern County Department of Environmental Health regulates were in compliance.

Matthew Constantine, the county's environmental health services director, said they've been working with all public pool owners and informing them well ahead of time of the change in the law. Pools not in compliance won't be reopened until they make the necessary changes.

"We remain concerned with those who aren't in compliance," Constantine said. "The primary purpose of this law is the protection of public health."

The law, passed more than a year ago, requires that public pools with split main drains be equipped with covers that prevent entrapment. Public swimming pools with a single main drain also have to be equipped with an automatic pump shutoff system or other safety feature in case of blockage.

Other measures, including suction-limiting vent and gravity drainage systems, can be used in pools with only a single main drain, the law says. There have been incidents in the United States where children have become disemboweled or have drowned because they became stuck against powerful drains.

Constantine said Kern County has had more stringent regulations in place than many other areas to limit the chances of something like that happening. Still, the law can only help, he said.

"This adds another level of protection," Constantine said.