Safety for my pond

[Tiffi]

I live in Tennessee, want to set up a pond this spring, and was wondering about two things:

1) Is a water depth of 24" enough for my fishes to survive in the winter?

2) Do I need a fence around the pond. I'm just so scared some stupid kid might fall into the pond, drown and its parents will sue me big time.

Thanks for the answers.

 

[krap101]

i think its 3 feet to be able to leave the fish in. im not that sure that a kid would fall in. i have no personal experience with this, but for the kid to be able to drown i think it would either have to be like a baby, or.. doesnt know how to stand in water? also if the kids small enough to be able to drown in a 3 ft pond, shouldnt it be the parent's responsibility to watch the kid? but then again this is just speculation (not even sure if thats the right word, but we dont have that many little kids around here anymore)

id be more worried about animals getting into your pond and eating your fish. i dont know about the wildlife in TN, but here neighbor's cats raccoons and dogs could probably catch fish.

 

[Tiffi]

I though about the cats etc too, but we have a very nice lab mix, that keep all cats etc away.

I've just heard about this many times, that if kids drown in your pond or pool it's your fault because you might not have had a fence or so to surround it. I've also heard that up to a specific depth you don't need a fence. Everybody just sues everybody here in the US, even if the kids would have been old enough to know better or the parents were supposed to watch them.

Besides, my parents live in Germany and one of their friends kids nearly drowned in a tiny little pond. The adults were all inside chatting, when the little boy wandered outside. The only reason he didn't drown was his older sister, she fished him out! And it is really a very small pond!

 

[krap101]

thats true. you could do one of the older style fences and make it look nice .

 

[piranha]

If there is a chance that the pond could freeze over, it's best to have an area of the pond at 3 feet in depth. But I can tell you that I am currently keeping 3 commons in a small 100 gallon pond with the deepest part at about 2 1/2 feet. I also live in the northeast where temps are colder. I use a de-icer during winter. During winter I leave the pond netting on to keep thirsty cats and birds away. If I didn't have fencing around my property with a large pond, I would consider fencing around the pond if there were small children in the area.

 

[greenmaji]

A pool is what is considered a "attractive nusance" without a fence.. same as a trapoline..
They are thought to atract childrens attention (somthing to make them want to trespass, and legaly children are not able to read so signs are not enough)

As far as the pond goes, I would find out what the building code is localy for the "frost line" iow how far you have to dig to set a foundation for a building. When I lived in northern IN that was 24" here in Kentucky it's 18" yours should be 18" or less, I would defanately try to make the pond deeper then that.
And try to put a fence around the property or just the pond. (you may want to contact the local district attorney's office to find out if a Koi pond is considered and "attractive nusance" under the law down there (they might think kids would want to see your fishies and be attracted to it)

I hope this helps