city pond bylaw

[ceci]

For anyone who lives in the city of Ottawa limits have you heard of this silly pond depth limit bylaw (2 feet)? What are everyone's thoughts and plans about this? My parents have had a 6 foot deep pond in their backyard for years to help the frogs over winter, it was a lot of work to build and they are distraught over filling it in.

Apparently bylaw officers will be entering backyards to check for ponds and issuing notices and fine, 500$ daily to a max of $100000. The yard is huge and although fenced does not meet the fencing high requirement.

Any advice, thoughts, groups....any direction at all would be great.

Thanks,
Ceci

[JetJumper]

This rule has been in place for years.  Frogs and Fish can overwinter in 23" of water.  I used to build ponds for a local company in Ottawa 6 years ago and the rule was in place then for sure.  Many of the ponds I have built have 2' Kio which over winter in that depth.

I think these are your only options:

Option 1:  Raise the fence height to 6'
Option 2: Put rocks in the bottom of the pond to simulate 23"
Option 3: Fill in pond completely

[Greatwhite]

I guess that even if they built a diving board over it and called it a pool, the fence would still be an issue?

[Stussi613]

The inherent issue with a 6 foot deep pond, vs a six foot deep pool is that the pool usually has much better visibility to the fact that its deep. A pond generally isn't visible to the bottom and someone falling in would be in for a bit of a surprise.

The bylaw is intended to ensure children don't wander in to a body of water and drown. The fence either needs to be at the minimum for the bylaw, or a secondary locked fence would have to put around the perimeter, as with the pool bylaw. I know you can argue that someone could drown in a bathtub, or a spoon of water, but its easier to get our of a 2 foot depth of water than 6 feet.

I feel bad for your parents, but I don't hink they have a choice on raising the depth of the pond, or the height of the fence.

[exv152]

Here's the actual bylaw and a city of Ottawa link. The minimum height fence is 1.5 m, or 5 ft. There are also specifications for type of fence etc that can be used. This is highly enforced too because of the personal safety risk invovled. I would probably just fill it in for the time being and leave a shallow 12-20 inch pond.

http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/laws-licenses-and-permits/laws/pool-enclosure-law-no-2001-259

http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/laws-licenses-and-permits/building-and-renovating/what-projects-require-permits/pool

[robt18]

I'd build an appropriately sized fence... a $500 fine is a bother, but wait until they get hit with a $million lawsuit because some toddler or drunk kid fell in and died. Not worth the risk.

[Nienna]

I'd suggest you might want to consider taking a pro-active approach.  Have your parents contact the city saying they just found out about the bylaw (true) and have them submit their fence plans (for directly around the pond) along with a realistic estimate of how long it'll take to get the fence up.  Once the immediate fix is done, they can figure out what they want for a long-term solution.

In a lot of these situations bylaw people will be understanding, especially if you're promptly fixing it once you are aware of the situation.

That being said there's always the chance of getting a jerk.

[ceci]

Thanks everyone for yours thoughts.

We've decided to wait for warmer weather so the plants that are at the bottom can start growing, then I'll dive in and try to up root them so they can be transplanted. We're going to fill it in with dirt to 23" and then replant the plants. Sad...