The Madison County Health Department generally is in charge of inspecting pools, but the department has not been instructed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission — the national organization charged with enforcement of the law — on how to make the new law part of its routine inspection, health department Environmental Supervisor Brandon Clidence said.

The department tries to inspect every pool in the county yearly, although Madison County does not have a pool ordinance mandating that, Clidence said.

Scott Murr of Anderson’s Mermaid Pools said his business has been working diligently for three months in preparation of the new law. The business has sent certified letters to all its commercial accounts informing them of the new law, and since then, it has been receiving phone calls asking the business to assess what each client needs to do to be in compliance.

“Every one of them is going to need something done,” Murr said.

Mermaid Pools, which primarily deals commercially in smaller hotel and apartment complex pools, sent out about 100 letters. Less than half generated responses, Murr said, indicating some pool owners either might not be paying attention to the new law or may not be not worried about being up to code in the winter season.

The biggest obstacle with the new law is that drain cover manufacturers haven’t kept up with demand.

“Everybody’s demanding to get these, but they just haven’t produced enough of them yet,” Murr said.

It could cost anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 or $6,000 per pool to change drain covers, but Murr said the issue is of utmost importance.

“Anytime when you’re dealing with people dying in the swimming pool, it should be No. 1 in importance,” he said.