Essex · about 8 mi from our shop
Plunge Pool Installation in Essex, MA
Essex lots near the Great Marsh often pair a plunge pool site with a private well and septic. The town also has its own pool enclosure bylaw.
Plunge pools in Essex
What to know before you start.
Here the fence must be 4 feet tall or more and stand at least 5 feet from the pool's edge, with gates that latch themselves. Any house door opening straight into the pool area needs an alarm. We draw the deck and coping inside that 5-foot ring so fence posts don't fight the layout.
Below grade, the questions are groundwater and the leach field. Soils in the village center carry a seasonal high water table, which matters for any shell set in the ground, and Title 5 keeps an in-ground pool 20 feet from the soil absorption system. If you're on town water, a declared shortage can stop pool filling. When it's time to drain, the water has to be dechlorinated before it reaches a storm drain.
Pool decks, coping and site work by our crew around the North Shore. See more of our work.
Local rules that can affect your plunge pool project.
Pool enclosures
Every pool needs an enclosure at least 4 feet high, at least 5 feet from the pool, with self-latching gates, and house doors into the pool area need an alarm. The rule applies to existing pools too.
Source: Essex Bylaws ↗Filling limits on town water
During a declared state of water supply conservation, the DPW Commissioners can prohibit filling swimming pools. The bylaw applies to users of the public water system.
Source: Essex Bylaws ↗Emptying the pool
Pool water can go to the storm drain system without a DPW permit only if it's dechlorinated: left standing a week or tested under 1 part per million chlorine, and drained without causing a nuisance.
Source: Essex Bylaws ↗Septic setbacks for pools
State Title 5 rules keep an in-ground swimming pool at least 20 feet from a soil absorption system and 10 feet from a septic tank.
Source: 310 CMR 15.211: Title 5 setback distances ↗
We check the current requirements for every project before we start.
Can I drain my plunge pool into the street drain in Essex?
Only once it's dechlorinated. The stormwater bylaw allows it if the water has stood a week or tests under 1 ppm chlorine, and it's drained without creating a nuisance.
Will an Essex water shortage stop me from filling the pool?
On town water, it can: the DPW Commissioners may ban pool filling during a declared shortage. The bylaw is written for public water system users and doesn't mention private wells.
Let's talk about your plunge pool in Essex.
Estimates are free. We'll call you back to set up a time to see the property.