Pool closures explained

Orange Aquatic Centre manage Beth Shea is just as frustrated by the temporary closure of the pools, after a contamination, and she would like to explain why the procedures are in place:

It’s incredibly frustrating for everyone when the Orange Aquatic Centre pools are closed because of contamination. I can assure you that frustration is shared by staff as well as pool customers.

There’s a perception that the Orange pool is closed more often than other centres.

We can’t speak for other centres, but we can assure pool users the decontamination process we complete is in accordance with the NSW Health guidelines, which can be read here.

The other contributing factor to this perception could be our policy of transparency. We want to let the public know when the pool is closed as soon as possible to avoid any added inconvenience. Giving a priority to keeping our community aware, might also give the impression that the Orange Aquatic Centre is affected more than other pools.

According to the NSW Health guidelines, following the finding of a loose stool in the water, the pool must be closed and it must go through a decontamination process for at least 24 hours.

This is done to avoid the chance of spreading diseases such as Cryptosporidium, which can involve two weeks of vomiting and diarrhoea, Adenovirus, Hepatitis A, Norovirus and Giardia, just to name a few.

Before the pool can be opened again the chemicals in the water must be at safe levels. This is a manual process and there are many variables which can affect how long that will take.

When it comes to the Toddlers’ Pool, higher than usual chlorine levels might cause skin irritation for young children.

This might seem over-zealous but we must operate to the guidelines. These guidelines have changed over the years and didn’t used to be so stringent, which is why people might assume we’re going a bit over-the-top.

If we remove a solid stool from the water, the pool must be closed for at least 20 minutes.

Staff do their best to ensure all small children are wearing a swimming nappy when using the pool and we try our best to educate people about coming to the pool if they’ve been sick.

The rule is, if you’ve been sick do not come to the pool for two weeks.

We’re relying on our customers to be mindful and respectful of the rules.

-Beth Shea, Orange Aquatic Centre.

Further information on the guidelines can be found on the Public Swimming Pool & Spa Advisory Document.