Dear Editor: This writer has discovered a loop hole in the law that permits a new in-ground swimming pool to be built on residential property.

Newton County law states that a fence must be built around a new in-ground swimming pool at a home in the county. I believe this law was enacted to protect neighborhood children from swimming without adult supervision.

If you build a new home or business in Newton County, you must have a final inspection before you move in. But Newton County does not inspect a new pool to see if a fence is up before the owner can use the pool. The pool owner gets a 6-month building permit and can have it extended another six months. Essentially, the owner can use the pool for a year without fencing it in.

Should the county be responsible if some neighborhood child drowns in the pool because it allowed the pool owner to fill the pool before a fence is completed around the pool? I think the law should be changed to allow the pool to be filled only after the pool is fenced in.