CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A law took effect eight months ago to keep children from being stuck underwater by the suction of powerful drains, but a Channel 9 investigation found almost no one is enforcing it.

Across the country, enough children have died or been injured in what are called suction-entrapment accidents in pools that Congress passed a federal law that took effect last December requiring mandatory changes in public pools, including replacing old flat drain covers with new anti-entrapment designs.

“They're harder to get stuck on because of the way they're designed,” said Sandy Biggerstaff, who owns a pool maintenance company that services dozens of community pools in the Charlotte area.

She said most have installed the new drain covers, but not all.

Right now, there's no penalty for those who don’t. That’s because while the federal law includes massive fines for public pools that aren't in compliance, there's virtually no enforcement -- just two federal inspectors for 1,300 neighborhood, apartment, community and hotel pools in Mecklenburg County and thousands more across the state.

Even the Consumer Product Safety Commission, responsible for enforcing the law, admitted it's hoping local authorities will carry the ball.

“States and counties regulate pools. Here comes a federal law about pools,” said Kathleen Reilly of the CPSC. “The feds don’t really regulate this.”

But Mecklenburg County said it can't enforce the federal law either because it has authority for enforcing state laws only, which right now aren’t as strict.

“The federal law is in place. It's been in place since December 2008,” said Dennis Salmen, supervisor of the Mecklenburg County Health Department.

“But if nobody's enforcing it, is it doing any good?” asked Eyewitness News reporter Jim Bradley.

“That is absolutely true,” Salmen said.

Salmen said the majority of public pools in Mecklenburg County have installed the new drain covers, even without being forced to. In fact, Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation said all of its pools are fully compliant with the federal law.

But no one can say for sure how many neighborhood, apartment or hotel pools aren’t because no one is checking.

Parent Pattie Schweers said that's ridiculous.

“If there's nobody to follow up and enforce the policies, then what's the point of passing a law if there's no one to enforce it,” Schweers said.

Until that changes, pool safety advocates said parents should take a close look at any pool they use.

“They really want to look for a drain that has more of a dome on it, sides that are open so water can go through. This does not create a seal with a child's body,” said Danielle Kazmier of the Pool Safety Council.

In a shallow pool, parents can easily see if one of the new drain covers is in place. You're looking for something with a domed-shaped top. It's not so easy to see them though at the bottom of the diving area in a big pool.

If you're not sure, ask the people running your pool and demand to know if the new drain covers are in place.

That federal law is only for public"pools -- ones in neighborhoods, hotels and apartment complexes. It doesn't apply to private backyard pools, but it's still a good idea.

The safer drain covers cost anywhere from $35 to $100.

There's an effort right now to rewrite state law to include the federal drain regulations.

If that happens, the county could start enforcing the new rules. But it could be next summer before it happens.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has a special Web site with detailed information on the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. To visit it, click here.

Safe Kids USA provides a brief checklist with questions you can take to the manager of any public pool. To find that, click here

A video from the CPSC shows just how powerful the suction of a pool drain can be. A large ball is stuck to the drain and a grown man is unable to pull it off. Visit here and click on “standard version” or “higher quality version” to view.

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