It's a far too frequently repeated tragedy happening in many places. By law here all swimming pools must have child proof fencing and gates. But I don't think garden ponds are included in that. There is a big emphasis here on teaching toddlers (babies even) how to swim. For babies it's a matter of them learning to stay upright and 'dog-paddle'. And for older it's acual swimming. It seems to work for those that make the effort, but despite all the publicity given to it there's still reports of deaths.

Where this happened, it is the law that anything with more than 600mm of water must be fenced.

How Tragic!!!!! My rebuilt pond(when it ever gets finished!;-(!)will have a wire topper against the otter, so I won't even have to worry about my Chihuahua anymore! (Darn dog just has to jump up and walk around the edge cuz that's where my attention is!! Sheesh. I cannot imagine what the families must be going thru right now....my prayers and condolences go out to them!

Code in the US is similar. A pond deeper than 18-24" (varies by city) is treated exactly the same as a swimming pool. Fencing requirements vary by city too, those with the highest child drowning rates have the toughest codes. It's unfortunate it take a lot of deaths to change building codes.

Here in Phoenix we have a children's long term care hospital called Hacienda. As you meet the kids and learn their stories you find most are there because of near drownings. Very sad.

I see lots of people building deep ponds in front yards and unfenced backyards. They generally get really mad if you even mention building code. Hard to imagine the hell of being responsible for harming a kid, much less the huge legal costs, just for being dumb.

My heart goes out to the families......so many losses.
The sad truth is that it takes less than 2" of water and fences are not always the answer.... a friend recently lost her granddaughter to a bathtub drowning.....we must all be vigilant, the answers are not always easy.

Hi
That is sad , can't hardly listen to the news without hearing about this in my area mostly from swimming pools .
Had a what turned out to be funny experience with a neighbor boy . My garden pool is fenced BUT he climbed the fence and I was terrified something would happen to him.
I asked both him and his parents to stay away from it with no results . So went the other way and invited him in and showed him the wonders of the pool. He was thrilled with the fish. When he asked what kind of fish they were i told him they were "Man eating sharks!!"" Don't ever get anywhere near the water!! He wouldn't believe so told him to take off a shoe and stick his foot in the water.
Still didn't believe they were sharks but would NOT stick his foot in the water even though I assured him i had emergency medical standing by lol
Ended on a happy note as he and his family moved to another state. since that time the yougest neighbors are in late forties and so far have not bothered my pool.lol
Have often wonderd if the kid tells stories of his "Shark encounter in florida lol gary

Well, I put a lock on the gate and the neighbours are complaining so I'm having a key made to give to those without any kids!

I just built a small pond in my yard with no water in it yet. The max water depth would be 35". I cannot fence my yard completely. So I was thinking of putting a fence just around the pond. What is a minimum safe height? I have been worried about this since we have young children in the neighborhood and they like to play in my yard at times.

You would have to check the regulations where you live. You may be able to do that online depending on whe you live. Here it is four feet.

Here in AZ the code is minimum 5' tall non-climbable (no horizontals except at bottom and top) and a self closing gate. You can also buy temporary pool fences.

Thanks for the info. I will check here and figure a solution.