Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Pond Safety

[Chris ScottHanson (chris]

There is a theory about danger being less dangerous when it is 
apparent.  The park over the freeway in Seattle, which was completed in 
1976 was originally suppose to have child proof barriers around all the 
water features.  The landscape architect convinced the parks department 
that these water feature would be safe if the danger was real and 
apparent.  He won the argument.  I have heard of no serious accidents 
in this park, even though there are some serious open water falls and 
ponds.  It is interesting to watch young children explore it the first 
time.

We have a 10,000 sf shallow drainage pond next door to where we live 
and there are 29 children in our neighborhood.  So far, there have been 
no problems, partly, I think, because the sides/banks are gradual 
enough that a child can scramble out if they fall in.

Chris ScottHanson


On Jan 5, 2004, at 7:05 PM, Rob Sandelin wrote:

> Sharingwood has two ponds, one a drainage pond, the other a garden 
> pond.
> Neither have fencing, both have had kids fall into them. Parents of 
> toddlers
> supervise their kids, ponds not withstanding. Both ponds are magnets 
> to the
> older kids (5 and up) and like I said, most of the hard core pond 
> players
> have been in at least once, maybe more. Water is a great play area. 
> Safety
> with toddlers is an issue, but not a big one since that age bracket 
> does not
> wander unsupervised in my community anyway.
>
> Rob Sandelin
> South Snohomish County at the headwaters of Ricci Creek
> Sky Valley Environments  <http://www.nonprofitpages.com/nica/SVE.htm>
> Field skills training for student naturalists
> Floriferous [at] msn.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cohousing-l-admin [at] cohousing.org
> [mailto:cohousing-l-admin [at] cohousing.org]On Behalf Of Bambi Rattner
> Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2003 8:23 PM
> To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
> Subject: [C-L]_Pond Safety
>
>
> I'm in a cohousing group that's considering putting in a pond, and some
> safety issues are coming up for us--particularly in regard to children.
>   With a pond, unlike a pool, putting up some sort of fence doesn't 
> seem
> like an option.  So I'm wondering if there are any other cohousing
> communities out there with a pond or a lake that have faced similar
> issues and how you've dealt with them.  Any advice or shared
> experiences would be deeply appreciated.
>
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