Pond Safety Article
Ponds have been given a bad press in the media lately and, in my opinion, quite unfairly. Moving or still water, the pool or pond holds a fascination for children of all ages. Children are drawn to wildlife, cool water or pretty sounds or waves, they love water and it’s no wonder children drown in ponds across the country.
If we look at the statistics we see many more threats to our children than ponds. Rospa (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) statistics for 2002 on drowning show a total of 427 drowning deaths only thirteen of them in garden ponds. That’s 3% and I think this stat will have dropped since the start of your pond safety campaign.
As an expert in pond maintenance, parents concerned about the safety of their children regularly call me to take out garden ponds. But two factors make this reaction of hysteria too cautious. Most children who drown in backyard ponds drown in a neighbor’s or friend’s pond. So removing your own pond is a knee-jerk reaction, when you know your own pond is there and take the proper precautions.
In 2004, statistics show 11 deaths from falls in children under 14 alone. If you look around any garden, there are many accidents waiting to happen. Sharp or hard stones in the rockery, uncovered bamboo stakes, allergic reactions to insect bites, open gates leading to the road, unsafe play equipment, improperly stored garden chemicals, I’m sure you can think of more. .
All of these dangers, including the pond, can be protected with parental supervision and a little common sense. A child cannot grow if she is with the parent or a responsible adult. If you are going to let your child wander unattended in the garden, you must remove all the dangerous elements and with them all the interesting features. Garden ponds are a great source of inspiration and a great educational tool, we all remember the life cycle of the frog that we were taught in school, don’t we?
What can we do to ensure safety in our pond even for the children of visitors?
Well, here we have a number of options, when you design your pond, you can raise the pond with bricks, this prevents the child from just running into it without seeing it, and it can keep smaller children away completely. keep them safe while they can still see the fish, this applies well to koi ponds or ornamental ponds in terraced gardens, but in wildlife ponds and ponds in more natural settings, brick would not look as good. Metal or plastic grating is best, you can have a custom metal grating made by a blacksmith that perfectly complements the pond or you can get a plastic grating that sits below the surface and is barely visible. There are a few companies that make and install them and, being far from cheap, they are cheaper and easier to manage than a metal grille. And on the subject of the price, what price would you put on the safety of a child.
Contact numbers for some of the companies that manufacture pond safety grids are listed below.
Safa cover (01623) 428873.
Diamond Deck 0800 169 6919
Pondguard (01942) 888601