Effluent ponds are dangerous, and if something goes wrong it could be you in the crap!
With H&S laws in place PCBU (People Conducting a business or Undertaking) are liable for “Failing to comply with duties and exposing individual to risk of death or serious illness or injury”. Fines range from $150k to $1.5m.
Providing you have taken “all reasonable steps to eliminate or minimise the hazard” you are okay. One such step is to use a Pondboom™ instead of a pontoon to deploy floating effluent pumps. Floating effluent pumps are still the best pump for most dairy farms. The hazard associated with floating pontoons has roused a trend towards shore-mounted stirrers. However pumps are designed to push not suck. Loss of prime is a major cause of pump failure. The Nevada Pondboom™ enables safe deployment of Doda, Yardmaster, Gillies, Numedic, and most other brands of floating pumps.