VISITORS to Orange’s Aquatic Centre were forced to evacuate the children’s pool on Sunday afternoon for several hours after a child defecated in the water.
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The incident prompted Orange City Council staff to remind people of the importance of ensuring their children wore pool nappies while in the water.
Council spokesperson Nick Redmond said from time to time, pools at the aquatic centre needed to be closed temporarily to deal with contamination problems.
“In a facility such as this, which involves residents of all ages, accidents can happen and the pool staff respond quickly,” he said.
“Staff routinely keep pool customers in touch with the reasons why a pool needs to be closed, but sometimes the need to get swimmers out of the pool quickly takes a priority.”
Visitors to the pool on Sunday were not officially told why they needed to evacuate the water.
Mr Redmond said council apologised if some patrons “were not kept in the loop”.
“The risk of contamination can be minimised by parents of young children taking steps such as making sure their children are encouraged to go the toilet a number of times before they enter the pool, and then ensuring they wear a pool nappy,” Mr Redmond said.
“Even young children who are toilet trained can occasionally have accidents.”
Mr Redmond said parents and carers for children younger than five were reminded by staff they needed to be in arm’s reach of their children at all times.
“This is for normal water safety reasons , but it also lets parents read the signs that their child might need to get out of the pool,” he said.
Mr Redmond said the Aquatic Centre delivered water quality in line with standards set by state health authorities.
“By making sure their children wear a pool nappy, parents are doing their best to prevent a situation which can mean the pool is closed for a minimum of three hours to restore water quality,” he said.
“It takes at least three hours for one complete filtration cycle and for the pool water to be tested.
“It may also be necessary to clean the filters and vacuum the pool.”
tracey.prisk@fairfaxmedia.com.au