Menifee pool rules and permits

A plain-English guide for Menifee, California homeowners. Always confirm with the city before work starts. Rules change.

Do you need a permit?

Yes. A new or remodeled pool at a single-family home needs a building permit, and California law requires at least two drowning-prevention features when the permit is issued. Menifee's code sets pool setbacks and says pools and spas must be enclosed by a wall or fence at least 5 feet high. Routine service, like chemicals and cleaning, needs no permit.

Who to ask: City of Menifee Building & Safety (website)

The rules

• A pool or spa must be enclosed by a wall or fence at least 5 feet high. This is in Menifee's code.
• State law says a pool barrier must be at least 60 inches tall, with no more than 2 inches of gap at the bottom. Gaps in the barrier cannot let a 4 inch sphere through.
• Pool gates must open away from the pool, close on their own, and latch with the latch at least 60 inches above the ground.
• A new pool at a single-family home needs at least two safety features from the state's list of seven. The barrier counts as the first.
• In most single-family zones, a pool cannot go in the front yard. Water's edge must be at least 5 feet from the rear and side property lines.
• Pool equipment must be screened from view from the front yard and from neighbors' ground level.
• Dechlorinated pool water may be discharged when it is properly managed, but cleaning wastewater and filter backwash may not go into the storm drain system.
• Landscape watering is allowed only from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., not during rain or within 48 hours after it, and leaks must be fixed within 48 hours.

HOAs

Some Menifee communities, like Menifee Lakes, are gated with HOAs that may have their own pool and equipment rules. Ask your HOA before you add equipment or a cover.

Call before you dig

DigAlert (Southern California 811): dial 811. call at least 2 working days before digging for a new pool or plumbing trench

Local conditions

Menifee has mild winters and hot, dry summers, with a record high of 117 degrees. Pools here are used much of the year.

• Water from Eastern Municipal Water District is moderately hard in the Menifee report area. Hard water leaves scale on tile and heaters.
• Dry, sunny weather means fast evaporation, so pools lose water every week and need top-offs.
• Strong sun burns off chlorine fast, so stabilizer and testing matter.
• Pool pumps run long hours in summer. Variable-speed pumps are one way owners cut power use.
• A pool left alone in the heat can turn green in days. Weekly service is the way to prevent it.

Good to know

• Eastern Municipal Water District's 2023 report lists hardness of 4.6 to 4.7 grains per gallon for water from the Mills treatment plant. That plant typically serves Menifee. About 1 grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L.
• Menifee is sometimes served by the Skinner plant, whose 2023 hardness ranged from 9.6 to 17 grains per gallon, and its local desalination complex ranged from 5.4 to 7.6. Hardness at your tap depends on which source is feeding your area.
• EMWD is in Stage 1 of its Water Shortage Contingency Plan, a voluntary 10 percent cut. No pool or filling limits apply at Stage 1.
• At Stage 3a, EMWD would stop variances for filling swimming pools. That stage is not in effect.
• EMWD's permanent rules ban runoff, require repairing leaks within 48 hours, and ban hosing down driveways and hard surfaces.
• Menifee's code does not allow a pool in the front yard in most single-family zones, and the water's edge must be at least 5 feet from rear and side lines.
• Menifee's record high is 117 degrees, set June 20, 2016.