We have continuing coverage of a story Erie News Now was first to bring you last night about safety concerns at a Harborcreek Township wading pool.

Township supervisors are now closing the pool indefinitely, citing safety and legal and financial liability.

Last night, Erie News Now told the story of Callie Kulytman. The 8-year-old girl was in the Whitford Park wading pool last week when her hair was sucked into the drain of the filtration system.  She was rescued by her father who struggled to free her.

A new warning sign was put up, but supervisors obviously realized Wednesday that more had to be done.

Suction lines pull water through a pump system so water can be filtered and treated and returned to the pool. Andrew Spear is known as Erie's Pool Doctor.  He installs new pools and hot tubs and renovates old ones. He says incidents such as what happened to Callie should never occur.

Spear says the federal government passed legislation in 2007 called the Virginia Graeme Baker Act. It's named after a 7-year old girl who died after becoming entrapped in the drain of a hot tub.

The law states that all public pools and spas must have a compliant drain cover. In a case where there is only a single main drain, an anti-entrapment system must be installed. That system knows when there's a problem and corrects it immediately.

"The devices back in the pump area actually sense when the suction parameters change. As soon as the suction goes out of those parameters, it disables the pump so whatever is on the other side can be released,” says Spear.

Harborcreek supervisors will close the pool indefinitely at the close of park hours Wednesday.  The supervisors did not address the Virginia Graeme Baker Act specifically, but in a statement, they did say that the legal and financial liability to township residents is too great to allow the pool to remain open.

The statement said there is no immediate alternative that would ensure public health.

In the meantime, park visitors are encouraged to use other public pools and splash parks around the Erie area, including the Tri-Community Pool next to the Eastside YMCA.