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WINSTON-SALEM (MCT) — The city of Winston-Salem on Wednesday announced new safety policies and procedures for the city's eight pools nearly a month after a girl drowned at Kimberly Park pool.

Tim Grant, the city's director of recreation and parks, said that the safety measures took effect Monday. His department sent letters last week to local day-care centers, children's summer camps and groups, informing them of the safety measures at city swimming pools.

"We saw some things we could put in place immediately to enhance the safety of children in summer camps and day-cares," Grant said in an interview at Kimberly Park pool.

Ja'Nae McCullum, 6, died June 26 while she was on an outing with the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club. Her family has said that she could not swim. Her death is the third at a city pool in recent years.

Police have said that there were two adults from the Boys & Girls Club supervising 21 children at the pool before the drowning occurred. About 30 to 35 children were in the water at the time, and eight lifeguards were on duty.

Under the new rules, the minimum adult-to-child ratio for day cares, camps and other groups is one adult for every 10 children in the water. Groups are required to have at least two adults for every 10 children, so that the ratio is always maintained.

In addition, the city began a colored wristband system to help identify children 5 and younger, and to identify weak and strong swimmers.

"Non-swimmers will be identifiable to lifeguards and camp counselors," Grant said. "They will bring an extra set of eyes."

A second safety line in the shallow water was added to each city pool last Thursday to create a restricted area for inexperienced swimmers. That line marks the place where the bottom of the pool drops from 3 feet deep to 4 feet deep. There are safety lines that designate the deep end for diving at the city's pools.

The Kimberley Park pool has two diving boards above water that is 12 feet deep. It also has a shallow area for toddlers. There's a gentle slant in the section where the pool depth goes from 5 feet to 12.

The safety measures are needed because most young children don't swim well, Grant said.

Lifeguards will give swim tests to children with groups, Grant said. Other children and adults who are not in groups can be tested at the discretion of lifeguards.

Grant said that lifeguards have given swim tests to visitors at the city's pools for several years.

Kathie Booher, the manager of the Kimberly Park pool, said that it will take lifeguards about 10 minutes to determine the swimming ability of children who are part of groups. She said that safety measures are the right approach.

"I think they are great because it will make things a lot safer," Booher said. "It's not hard to put in place."

Children attached to groups will be required to swim one length of the pool, or 25 yards, without touching the bottom, Booher said. The water there is 3 feet deep.

"We just want to determine if they can swim," she said.

Several children were playing in the water at Kimberley Park yesterday. Four boys took turns driving off the board, and four lifeguards were watching them.

Greg Coger played in the shallow water with his daughter, Helen, and his stepson, Matthew. Coger said that the swim tests and requiring children to wear wristbands are good ideas.

"Accidents are going to happen, unfortunately," Coger said about Ja'Nae's death. "It could have happened at any city pool. Unfortunately, it happened here."