Jacksonville’s new drowning prevention committee will examine retention pond safety, including fencing, lighting, access points and risks for local kids with autism.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville city leaders are taking a closer look at retention pond safety following two child drownings in Jacksonville in August.

The Jacksonville City Council’s new Special Committee on Drowning Prevention is tasked with examining ways to reduce drownings, particularly around retention ponds and stormwater facilities.



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Councilman Reggie Gaffney Jr., who chairs the committee, said the recent deaths show why the work needs to move forward.

“This committee is needed now, because two kids have drowned in one month,” Gaffney said. “So we need to evaluate our system policies and find out, is it working or is it not working? So we’ll be examining, exploring every alternative ways and options that we have on the table.”

The two August deaths involved children with autism. On Aug. 5, 7-year-old Chace Brown drowned in a retention pond near Broward Road after disappearing from his home. On Aug. 24, a 3-year-old girl was found unresponsive in a retention pond near Waterside Townhomes at River City, just north of Duval Station Road.

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Gaffney said the committee will look beyond the ponds themselves and examine the surrounding areas.

“We will be looking at ways to make retention ponds safer,” Gaffney said. “We’ll be looking at ways and exploring ways to reduce drowning. We’ll be looking at how close sidewalks are at the ponds. How close playgrounds are the ponds? At the end of the day, hopefully, we could examine all these ponds and lakes and come up with some practical solutions.”

The committee will also consider what safety measures are already in place and what could be added.

“As of right now, everything is on the table,” Gaffney said. “We want to look at lighting. We want to look at access points to these ponds. We want to look at the barriers, fencing. We want to look at everything.”

The committee’s official charge is broader than physical barriers. It will review available drowning and water-rescue data, current water-safety education efforts and risks involving children and adults with autism or other developmental disabilities who may be prone to wandering. The city also plans to examine possible perimeter and early-alert technology, swimming lessons, CPR education, rescue equipment, emergency information and risk-based safety assessments.

The group will also hear from city departments and public safety agencies, healthcare professionals, stormwater engineers, homeowners associations, developers,drowning prevention experts, schools, nonprofits, neighborhood representatives and affected families.

Another part of the committee’s work will be looking outside Jacksonville for ideas.

“We also gonna be looking at other cities to see what they doing,” Gaffney said. “You know, we gonna get data from other cities, and we wanna implement that here in Jacksonville.”

Gaffney said he wants the process to result in practical changes, even though he does not yet know exactly what those changes will look like.

“At the end of the day, I want the city of Jacksonville to feel safe around retention ponds,” Gaffney said. “What that look like, I’m not sure, but I want the community to feel safe.”

The committee’s first formal meeting is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at Jacksonville City Hall.