Police investigate the drowning of a 3-year-old child Aug. 24, 2026, in a pond near her home in the Waterside Townhomes at River City, just north of Duval Station Road. | News4Jax
Published on September 1, 2026 at 3:20 pm
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Just over a week after a 3-year-old girl drown in a retention pond off North Main Street, the president of Jacksonville City Council has established a special committee to explore solutions.
Council President Nick Howland established the special committee Tuesday, the week after City Council member Reggie Gaffney Jr. kick-started the effort with a community meeting about drownings.
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Howland set a deadline of Dec. 31 for his committee to report to City Council’s Neighborhoods Committee. The committee will include Gaffney and fellow council members Tyrona Clark-Murray and Mike Gay.
During his packed community meeting last week, Gaffney heard from medical officials, as well as developers and landscapers who had ideas about cordoning off drainage ponds. He also heard from parents of children with autism, worried about that water will draw their sons and daughters.
Howland acknowledges that the city cannot eliminate every risk around water. But he said city officials have an obligation to find “practical, commonsense solutions that can prevent a tragedy and save a life.” The committee will pay particular attention to retention ponds and stormwater facilities, he said.
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“Its work will include examining available data on drownings, reviewing existing community water safety education efforts, evaluating the particular risks associated with children with autism, assessing current safety and prevention methods across Jacksonville and other communities, and recommending public information strategies and/or appropriate legislative action,” Howland said in an announcement.
The Florida Department of Children and Families’ recorded 91 deaths by drowning statewide through August of this year, four of them in Jacksonville, including the 3-year-old child on Aug. 24.
The department recorded 120 drownings statewide last year, three in Duval County. Statistics show that Florida loses more children under the age of 5 to drowning than any other state.
On June 8, a 1-year-old boy drowned after getting into a neighbor’s swimming pool after he got out of his Jacksonville home, according to DCF data. On March 15, a 5-year-old boy was found dead in a pool while playing outside with a sibling, DCF said.
The 3-year-old child who died on Aug. 24 was reported missing just after 7:30 a.m. from her home in the Waterside Townhomes at River City just north of Duval Station Road, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
That followed the disappearance of a 7-year-old child Aug. 5 from his home off Broward Road near Interstate 95.
Both of those deaths involved children with autism.
In his committee announcement this week, Howland said Jacksonville is a city defined by water, from its river and beaches to ponds and an extensive network of waterways. But the water also presents public safety risks that require continued attention, education, and collaboration, he said.
The first meeting of the special committee will be at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at City Hall.
