pond cover for child safety?

[dutchstar]

So we just moved into this house last summer and with the house came this terrific koi pond. We love it, and i have really enjoyed learning about the ins and outs of pond mastery on this site.

However, we have 2 little kids (4 yrs and 7 mos) and the danger of having an open water source in the yard have us justifiably anxious.

We've looked at a few options online - fencing the area in isn't really an option. We have found a few sites (mostly in the UK) for companies which build solid-metal covers with varying means of underneath support, and while it doesn't look the same as an uncovered pond, the pics we've seen make them look pretty decent, aesthetically speaking.

None of them travel across the atlantic for installation (not surprisingly) - some might ship supplies but the weight might make that prohibitively expensive. also, i'm a handy person but i have a feeling i'd screw that up.

We saw some sites where a blacksmith had forged a decorative "cage" to go over the pond, and have contacted some local smiths but not gotten a bite.

We are in southeast PA just north of Philly.

Any ideas/experience/input on this topic? Surely we can't be the only pond enthusiasts with little ones who are fearful of drowning accidents.

 

[brandonsdad02]

I would fence the area. My wife runs a in home daycare and we are going to fence our pond.

 

[DrCase]

A Decorative rod iron fence around the pond would look real nice

 

[Sunshine]

I agree with the rod iron fence. They have greatly improved over the years aesthetically.

 

[herzausstahl]

Your best bet is to fence the area or simply never let them out in the back yard unsupervised. The 7mo old will grow up with the pond so you will be able to teach them what they are allowed to do, the 4 year old will need much more supervision since they were not there when you built the pond like my daughter was (I have a 3 1/2 year old). She was climbing in an out of it when I built it and plays on the deck now, but she is never out there unless I am with her. So if you are nervous about having them around it I would look for some kind of fence that will work that you can remove later on, but remember they will most likely try to climb that anyway they can, well at least my daughter would. As a parent myself I say go with what you feel most comfortable with, but if you go with some kind of cover, remember you will want it to support at least 50 lbs. If it were me, I would do what I have done, set rules around the pond and then never let them out there alone. Good luck!

 

[Waterbug]

I've thought about it a lot. AZ has serious building code for swimming pools which most ponds fall under. And ponds in commercial spaces need some kind of remediation.

One idea I had was to put a steel grate below the water surface. Wide enough openings for the fish to swim through, but tight enough to stop a kid from getting too deep. This would be to code because the effective depth would be shallow enough given the grate. Problem is it scares me. I can't know for certain a barrier I design would work, it could make things worst. Like maybe the kid gets tangles up or something. Couldn't live with that. So I don't think about these any more.

You could fill the pond with pea gravel until it was only 18" deep, which most building codes consider shallow enough to be safe. You'd have to bring the fish indoors for winter. When the kids are old enough they can shovel out the gravel.

Many people here use temporary pool fences. Removed when the kids are old enough. Lots of companies sell them.

 

[rdk]

I have a black plastic covered steel fence covering my entire pond with black half inch wire over that. Keeps all animals out. I have the fence tied to plastic piping along the edge painted black. You could attach it to something stronger. RDK

 

[stephkimener]

http://www.saferpond.com/ found this site bc I am in the exact same situation. Hope this helps. Better late than never.