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New York - As summer weather heats up, a new federal law designed to improve pool safety is provoking a lot of questions, including who will enforce it.

In December 2008, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Safety Law went into effect. The law mandates all public pools and spas must have new, federally compliant drain covers installed and a second anti-entrapment system installed, when there is a single main drain other than an unblockable drain.

The new law, drafted following the death of a child, has federal officials working to educate the public, as well as their counterparts at the state and county levels. Local cooperation is key to enforcing a law that can involve hundreds of public pools per county. At the same time, a gap between the authority and the ability to enforce the law may mean some public pools have the new safety measures, while others don't and the public is left to guess.

Virginia Graeme Baker, the granddaughter of former secretary of state James Baker, was a 7-year-old girl who drowned after the suction of a spa drain pulled her under water in 2002. The new drain covers required by the federal law are designed to dissipate the power of the suction.

"The suction that's created can be hard enough for an adult to fight," said Jack Kind, owner of Kind Pools and Spas in the Town of Poughkeepsie. "If a small child somehow manages to get stuck, there's no way they'll manage to pull free."

According to the U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission, there have been 11 fatalities and 69 injuries from 1999 to 2008 that were caused because people were stuck on the drains of pools, spas and hot tubs. Of those incidents, 74 percent involved those under 15. A little more than 31 percent of those cases took place in public locations while more than 56 percent took place in residential settings.

The commission is responsible for administering the law and can fine violators up to $1.825 million.

"We are starting a large informational campaign to let the public and the swimming pool community know about this and to help them grasp the significance of this," said Kathleen Reilly, a commission spokeswoman.

Rich Robbins, associate public health sanitarian for the Dutchess County Department of Health, said inspections are performed just about every day to ensure pools meet standards.

Robbins said his department sends along any tips it receives about newly built pools that aren't in compliance to the commission. But Robbins said he doesn't actually dive into existing pools to see if their drain covers are in compliance.

"We just don't have the regulatory authority," Robbins said. "We don't have tools of enforcement to handle that."

Even though it is a federal law, the pool safety law hasn't been written into the state sanitation code yet. And the commission doesn't have the personnel to inspect all public pools.

John Procter, a spokesman for the Pool Safety Council, said "We've had cases of some public health officials actually stating on the record that they have no intention of enforcing the law."

Although some confusion existed over the specifications for the drain covers, Reilly said a number of manufacturers have stepped forward to provide them.

Already, public pools in Dutchess County have begun making the necessary improvements.

Sally Buttinger, one of the founders of Camp Hillcroft in LaGrange, said she had the new drains installed at the camp's pools about two years ago.

"We're part of the New York State Camp Directors Association and we heard about the Virginia Baker law at one of those meetings," Buttinger said.

Proctor said the cost to install the drain could range from a couple hundred dollars to more than $1,500 depending on the size and age of the pool or spa. Procter said those costs included the purchase of an automatic pump shut-off system, which is mandated for pools with only one main drain.

Phyllis Hohmann, aquatics director at the Jewish Community Center in the City of Poughkeepsie, said the community center's pool will be brought up to compliance in August. Because of the age of the pool and its configuration, the project is going to cost the center about $3,000.

"We work very closely with the (Dutchess County) Health Department," Hohmann said. "They informed us that we needed to make the change. Safety is a number one priority for us."