ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Following the death of a 3-year-old boy in a St. Johns County retention pond, many continue to ask if there can be improvements for safety around ponds.
Jack Patzwald is the victim in the latest tragedy of a child who drowned after walking into a Nocatee retention pond, the type of pond that is in practically every newer subdivision in Florida.
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“I’m really not surprised because it’s easy for it to happen. If you don’t keep your eye on a child, less than a second, if you turn your eye. It can happen to anybody,” said Megan Burton, who’s a mother.
News4JAX viewers were sharing their opinions on the WJXT4 Facebook page after the story about Patzwald’s death was published:
- “Why aren’t there fences around the ponds?”
- “I think all retention ponds should have fences installed around them, with 1 gate for entrance.”
- “Builders don’t do it because it isn’t in the building code or state law and they don’t want to spend any $$$ that will hurt their bottom line. Government can’t install things on private property. HOAs don’t care enough to spend their precious $$ on them.”
So far this year, 83 children have drowned in Florida, according to DCF. Last year it was 105, but that’s not all in retention ponds.
This has been an issue for years in Jacksonville, with more than 235 retention ponds in the city. City leaders have been pushing for more legislation and education, but it still remains an issue.
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News4JAX reached out to St. Johns County for comment on the issue, and a spokesman sent us a statement:
“The St. Johns County Land Development Code requires that dry basins designed to impound more than two feet of water or permanently wet basins be designed with side slopes no steeper than four feet horizontal to one foot vertical out to two feet below the surface control elevation. The St. Johns County land development code requires fencing by the developer for retention pond slopes above four feet horizontal to one foot vertical. If required, the County doesn’t approve construction until the fence is in place. Retention ponds surrounded by single-family homes are at the property owner’s choice to install fencing and are typically a 4’ black iron fence or 6’ vinyl or similar material subject to any HOA covenants and restrictions.”