Detective Senior Constable Paul Reynolds said all ACT pools needed to be brought up to the most recent safety standard.

"The most important thing is, regardless of when a pool was constructed, they should be brought up to the same modern standard," he said.

"These standards aren't there for arbitrary decisions, they've been made over time for a specific safety reason."

It's been nearly three years since Senior Detective Reynolds investigated the death of the toddler who drowned in an unfenced backyard swimming pool in Canberra.

It's been an experience that has stayed with him ever since.

"I think about it all the time. Three years afterwards, I'm still talking about it on a daily basis," Senior Detective Reynolds said.

"I've been very heavily invested in the case. It doesn't get more confronting than the death of a toddler."

River was 21-months-old when he died on December 30, 2015. The Perth toddler was with his family visiting relatives in Canberra when the tragedy occurred.

River's death wasn't the only drowning tragedy the detective has had to deal with over the years.

Ten years ago his best friend drowned during a kayaking accident in Canada. He said he still vividly remembers saving a 13-year-old who nearly drowned in Yerrabi Pond in Canberra's north in 2012.

"There's been a recurring theme over the years in terms of drowning, and that was the one thing that gave me motivation to become involved," Senior Detective Reynolds said.

Senior Detective Reynolds was tasked with investigating River's death as part of a coronial inquest, which recommended in 2016 existing pools should retrospectively comply with modern safety standards.

The detective still keeps in touch with River's family.

"We're cognisant of the fact that our relationship stemmed out of that tragedy. It was a life-changing experience for them and for me, and we're both on the same roller coaster," he said.

Two years after the coroner published her findings, Senior Detective Reynolds continues to petition the ACT government to enact the recommendations.

"I looked at the issue and thought we need to do something about it, and make sure people took notice and action on it," he said.

"The ACT government has touched on it a couple of times, but didn't do anything about it."

Among the recommendations put forward by the coroner was the creation of a central registry of all backyard swimming pools in Canberra.

Currently, there is no registry of pools kept by the ACT government, with each building file for Canberra properties needing to be looked at individually to determine if a home has a compliant pool.

The government previously estimated there was around 8000 pools in Canberra, but new data from PSMA Australia revealed there are 11,742 backyard pools.

"There has been some public awareness campaigns, but in terms of the tangible stuff like the creation of the registry, none of the recommendations have come to fruition," Senior Detective Reynolds said.

"I accepted at the start [of River's inquest] that I was in it for the long haul, and pool safety laws might not change overnight, but hopefully one day they will."

The detective was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2017, one of 109 Australians awarded the honour last year, which saw him speak to the Royal Life Saving Federation in Belgium.

While on the fellowship to gain new insights and ideas, Senior Detective Reynolds said he came across many initiatives around the world that have helped to dramatically reduce the number of toddlers drowning.

"In New Zealand, they introduced legislation to make pool owners have to fence their pool, no matter what year it was built, and the number of deaths dropped," he said.

"In Sweden and Norway, it's now compulsory for children to learn to swim by the time they leave primary school."

Senior Detective Reynolds said he's hoping to use to skills he acquired as part of the Churchill Fellowship to help improve water safety levels in the ACT.

In the past 25 years, eight toddlers fatally drowned in the ACT.

On Friday, the territory government launched its Backyard Lifeguard campaign for this summer, with a checklist available for pool owners online to see how safe their pool is.

The ACT government said in March this year it was developing a scheme to bring all swimming pools up to the same safety standard.

"The death of a child doesn't affect just one or two people, it's like a stone in a pond, where the ripples go out and affect everyone involved," he said.

"My next step is when proposed swimming pool legislation is put out by the government for public comment to use the knowledge gained through the fellowship."