Chilliwack – On Holiday Monday August 5, a parents worst nightmare. On a day to be filled with fun at the pool. a four year old drowned in a pond by the Chilliwack Landing Leisure Centre.
A petition was started on change.org to make permanent safety changes to those ponds.
Started by Jessica Macgillivray: On the afternoon of Monday, August 5, 2024 a four-year-old child lost her life due to this pond being beside a busy waterpark filled with toddlers and the biggest park Chilliwack. The pond is surrounded by hedges and invisible, to the naked eye. I am starting this petition as a mom who has been not stopped crying, watching this tragedy unfold. This was completely avoidable if the city of Chilliwack had a fence around it in the first place. Please sign this petition. I know it does not help to bring this child back, but it will save somebody else’s.
Jessica Armstrong sent a separate statement to FVN: Response from the city is that they “will be securing the site with temporary fencing and evaluating their approach to ponds within the city.” My response was asking if there was a problem with draining the site in terms of operation of the pool. I also informed them of the petition that is now up to 700 signatures and told them there were comments of incidents that may have not been reported in the past. Mark Strahl’s office has also responded saying that they will make Mr Strahl aware of the situation.
Petition: https://chng.it/CWJxDmyMWY
There have been social media calls that the pond be filled in with gravel.
Since then, yellow fencing has been put up around the entire pond area until further notice.
