Parents taking their children to Ballarat's pools face new measures on how many children they can supervise.
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New Watch Around Water guidelines for swimming with children mean families with children under five must have one adult to every two children, and there must be a minimum of one adult to four children aged under 10 years.
From Sunday December 1, families who do not have enough adults to meet the minimum requirement will not be allowed to enter the swimming facilities at Ballarat Aquatic and Lifestyle Centre or any of the City of Ballarat's other pools.
"It's important to remember that a person can drown in just 20 seconds in as little as 30cm of water. Taking your eyes off your child for just a moment can lead to devastating consequences," said BALC aquatic education team leader Leanne White.
"Our lifeguards are there to deal with emergency situations in the water, parents are there to actively supervise their children and prevent those emergencies from happening. We can't stress enough how important it is to be actively supervising at all times."
Children under five must wear a yellow arm band which is given when purchasing a swim, and must have an adult over the age of 16 in the water with them when swimming at BALC and Ballarat's outdoor pools.
The minimum supervision requirements were recommended by Lifesaving Victoria and introduced by the Watch Around Water campaign, to reduce the number of drowning incidents in children aged under 10.
The Watch Around Water policy requires children under 5 to be within arm's reach of a parent or guardian over the age of 16 during recreational play activities. Children under 10 must be constantly and actively supervised at all times.
Black Hill, Buninyong and Brown Hill outdoor pools will open for the summer season on December 1, with Eureka Pool's opening hours also changing to the summer timetable.
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