The Minimum Water Depth for a Diving Board for Pools

Minimum Water Depth

• For residential in-ground swimming pools, minimum pool depths for diving boards depend on the type of pool and the length of the board. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) minimum water depths for in-ground pools with diving boards run from 7.5 feet to 9 feet. However, many municipalities set their own rules for minimum water depths for residential in-ground swimming pools. For example, Edina, Minnesota, requires a minimum water depth of 8 feet for an in-ground swimming pool with a diving board.

Diving Board Specifications

• The length of a residential in-ground swimming pool's diving board also determines the minimum water depth needed for diving. All individual diving board manufacturers supply recommendations for minimum pool water depths for their equipment. For example, one diving board maker recommends that its 6-foot-long boards have at least 7.5 feet of minimum water depth for safe use. The same diving board maker's 10-foot-long diving board needs at least 8 feet of water beneath it.

Pool Types

• Outside of local codes, pool builders normally follow ANSI standards for pool building. ANSI Standard 5-2003 categorizes in-ground swimming pools into different types: 0, I, II, III, IV and V. A Type V pool, for example, must have a minimum diving board depth of 9 feet. Type V in-ground swimming pools can accommodate up to 12-foot-long diving boards. Type I pool diving board depths must be at least 7.5 feet and diving boards can't be any longer than 6 feet.

Considerations

• According to the Diving Board Safety website, above-ground pools are never safe for diving. Never attach diving boards to above-ground pools. According to ANSI, Type 0 in-ground swimming pools should also never have diving boards. Type 0 in-ground pools are only 5.5 feet at their deepest and are too small and too shallow for diving. Lastly, never remove a diving board and use it on another pool without consulting a pool professional first.