Most neighborhood pools have been open since Memorial Day weekend, but now that school's out, it's full-on swim time.

Several homeowner associations in our area have implemented unique ways to keep resident swimmers safe without putting a damper on family fun.

The Breezy Hill pool in Ashburn Farm. (Photos courtesty of the Ashburn Farm Association)

In Cascades, where residents enjoy the use of five community pools, kids who cannot yet swim are issued red, white and blue plastic armbands to alert lifeguards of a child's non-swimming status.

"To achieve swimmer status, children must pass a test for the lifeguards," said Martha Kaczmarskyj, general manager of the Cascades Community Association. "They must be able to swim the width of the pool and back and tread water in the deep end for two minutes."

Over at Ashburn Village, which has four outdoor pools, personnel give out swim diapers to parents of children in need at no charge. (Nothing screams "Clear the pool!" like a non-potty-trained-un-diapered little one in the shallow end.)

Per county code, pools contaminated by human feces or vomit must be closed immediately and re-filtered, which can sometimes take up to six hours with a large pool.

Ashburn Village general manager, Melissa Flewellyn, said the swim diapers have been well worth the extra cost.

Another act of nature that gets swimmers out of the pool quickly is lightning.

In the Broadlands community, where houses are still being built, lifeguards at the neighborhood's three pools were having a hard time discerning between nearby construction blasting and the sound of thunder.

The Windmill pool in Ashburn Farm.

The HOA solved this problem by purchasing a lightning detector, which are commonly used on golf courses. "It can detect incoming storms up to 75 miles away -- but for pool use, we have it set for 10 miles out," explained Staci Kapinos, an HOA board member and chairman of the community's recreation committee.

As a bonus, Broadlands organizers have been able to use the lightning detector at other community functions where an incoming storm would put a damper on an event. "We used it for our outdoor movie night and finished it up right before the storm hit," Kapinos said.

There are no new safety precautions over at Ashburn Farm this season, said general manager Tom Whiting. "We've got some great guards this year, and kids who pass their swim test get a patch," he said.

The big news at the Ashburn Farm's Windmill pool, Whiting said, is the new floating volleyball net. "But we have a problem with it drifting away while people are playing," he joked.

Visit the 2008 Summer Splash page to keep up with news and results from the Old Dominion Swim League and other competitive swimming action from around Loudoun.