Drownings in home swimming pools on rise

Increase comes after law change but safety group says it’s too early to connect the two

Drownings at private swimming pools have risen in the past 18 months, and the number of child deaths has water safety advocates worried. The increase in drownings occurred after law changes to pool fencing and safety last year, though the advocacy groups said it was too early to make any connection.

After reforms in the 1980s, the drowning rate in private pools in New Zealand was drastically reduced to around three a year. There was just one death in 2015 and 2016.

But that jumped to eight drownings last year. And so far this year, a further five people have died in private swimming pools.

“Every preventable drowning is a concern for us,” said Water Safety NZ chief executive Jonty Mills. “And there has been a bit of a jump in statistics in the last couple of years.”

He noted no clear pattern in the higher rates of drownings, which were caused by a range of factors.

But there was one standout statistic — five of the swimming pool deaths were children under 5. The average is around two a year.

“That is a genuine and serious concern for us,” Mills said.

Three of the child drownings last year are still being investigated, including 2-year-old Saylor Rose Kerlin, who was found unconscious in a family friend’s pool in October. Coronial reports have been completed on the other two deaths.

In one of them, 1-year-old Avarie-Wyatt Ireland drowned at a pool on a Gisborne property. The coroner’s report found the pool was properly fenced and had a self-closing gate, but the gate only closed if left to swing shut from at least one-third open.

In the other case, 1-year-old Dallas Jones was found floating face-down in a pool at a Warkworth property.

The pool did not need a fence because it was higher than 1.2m and was not easily accessed by children.

However, temporary steps which were usually removed from the pool by the family were left in place and Dallas climbed into the pool and drowned.

At the beginning of last year, new legislation came into force which aimed to improve swimming pool safety while also making the rules more practical. Most of the changes by the National-led Government were welcomed, especially more regular council inspections of pools.

A few changes were controversial, including more relaxed rules for fencing spa pools and automatic locks on gates around swimming pools.

“Certainly fencing around pools and restricting access to pools for toddlers is a real concern for us,” Mills said. “But it is early days in terms of linking the impact of drownings to [the law changes] . . . right now.

“From an under-5 perspective the only foolproof solution is constant adult supervision.”

Former Building and Housing Minister and National MP Nick Smith, who led the 2017 law changes, said he had been advised that five years of drowning data was needed before any firm conclusions could be drawn.

But the death of five children in residential swimming pools since early 2017 was very concerning, he said. Officials should seek information on whether those children had died in non-compliant pools.

Smith said about 90 per cent of child drownings in private pools are attributed to faulty gates or fences.

From an under-5 perspective the only foolproof solution is constant adult supervision. Jonty Mills Water Safety NZ