Water Safety New Zealand acknowledges with sadness the findings of a new Coroner’s report into the tragic Napier drowning of a 20-month-old girl in an unfenced temporary pool.

Around any form of water, young children must be constantly supervised with a designated adult actively responsible for them. Coroner Wrigley described the circumstances of Aromaia Duff drowning in March 2023 as “a tragedy waiting to happen”.

Water Safety New Zealand is calling on all New Zealanders to actively change behaviour around temporary pools in their property, or, at best – don’t use them at all.

“Losing a child to drowning is beyond heart-breaking. The pain for everyone who knew and loved Aromaia must be life-changing, and our thoughts and deepest condolences are with them as this report is issued,” says Gavin Walker.

“No words can ease their loss. But sharing the findings of this case may help prevent future tragedies.”

Water Safety New Zealand is calling for a ban on the sale and use of above-ground temporary pools. Many New Zealanders buy temporary pools and use them without barriers or are potentially unaware of the regulations that need to be followed.

“It’s a blunt approach, we know that” says Gavin. “But if we don’t take action, we are putting the lives of young children at risk.

“It does not matter whether a pool is permanent or temporary, the risk of drowning is the same. But expectations for people to comply with fencing regulations for cheap, portable pools may be quite simply out of touch with reality.”

Aromaia drowned at a family property in an unfenced temporary pool of 76cm in height.
Under regulations, the pool required a 1.2m fence, a self-closing, self-latching gate at least 1.2m high, as well as notification to a council and potential building consent for both the fence and gate.

Anecdotally, Water Safety NZ believes there are thousands of temporary pools commonly in use that do not comply with fencing regulations. Any portable pool deeper than 400mm is subject to the same fencing rules as in-ground pools.

“In the tragic preventable drowning of Aromaia Duff the pool was second-hand and left by people no longer living at the address,” says Gavin. “These pools, if people insist on using them simply have to be fenced or emptied immediately after use. If you can’t do this – don’t use them.”

As next summer approaches Water Safety NZ reminds everyone that all pools – including temporary and portable pools – must be properly fenced.

Read more: watersafetynz.org/staying-safe/keeping-little-ones-safe

Pool fencing regulations: watersafetynz.org/stay-safe/swimming-pools

Notes:

For very young children almost all water is a risk for drowning - whether that is in a bucket, bathtub, pond, or pool.

• Collective impact of New Zealand’s water safety and child safety sectors since the early 2010s has made incredible progress by targeting drowning prevention initiatives for three sub-groups of little people
  • Babies (under 18-months)
  • Toddlers (18 months to three years)
  • Pre-schoolers.

Increasing knowledge about drowning risks, changing attitudes, and reducing risk-taking behaviour continues to save lives.

• New Zealand’s experience with mandatory pool fencing is credited as one of the most effective public health policies in our history. Child pool deaths dropped over 80 per cent from an average of nine fatalities every year in the 1980s to a ten-year average of 1.6 child pools drownings annually (2015-2024).
• Prior to the introduction of the Fencing of Swimming Pools Act 1987, an average of nine children aged five and under drowned every year, with many drownings occurring in unfenced backyard pools.

About Water Safety New Zealand

Water Safety New Zealand is the lead agent for water safety and drowning prevention in New Zealand. For more than 75 years, we’ve made it our mission to support people and places to be safer around water.

We do this through focused data science, leadership, education, and advocacy. As a charity, we are dedicated to making New Zealand’s waterways safer for everyone.

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