By Lori Luechtefeld

Dave Jones, executive director of International Professional Pond Contractors Association, said pond builders must be wary of the growing trend towards what many are calling “swimming ponds.” (Courtesy of Custom Stone Supply)

Many aspects of the pond industry operate under few if any regulations. As in many trades, new regulations often are sparked by high-profile cases of negligence that result in a public outcry for governmental intervention, said Dave Jones, owner of Pond Professional in Woodstock, Ga., and founder and executive director of International Professional Pond Contractors Association.

In this respect, Jones said pond builders must be wary of the growing trend toward what many are calling “swimming ponds.” Marketing such projects under this term blurs the lines between conventional ponds and swimming pools, he said. As such, regulators may be tempted to lump landscaping ponds under more-stringent swimming pool codes — particularly if an unfortunate accident in a “swimming pond” results in a call for new regulations, Jones said.

“If the government becomes concerned with people going back and forth between what constitutes a pond versus a pool, regulators will throw up their hands and say, ‘OK, who has the strictest regulations?’” Jones said. “National pool regulations are about 60 pages long.”

The pond industry is still relatively young, Jones said. “It doesn’t have the maturity or responsibility of more-established industries. We need to establish minimum standards that will be adhered to by pond professionals, and we need to develop them within industry — before federal regulators just throw ponds under pool regulations.” <HOME>