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An investigation by Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph has revealed that swimming pool water at five of the city’s most popular aquatic centres contained elevated levels of heterotrophic bacteria clusters, which can breed more dangerous bacteria such as legionella or others that cause urinary or internal infections.

The findings were recorded this week by Sonic Food and Water Testing at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, the Whitlam Centre in Liverpool, Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre, Victoria Park Pool and Prince Alfred Park Pool.

Each sample returned the maximum reading of “greater than 300” colony-forming units in a heterotrophic plate count (HPC) test. NSW Health guidelines require urgent retesting for any readings over 100 HPC.

Western Sydney University water quality specialist Dr Ian Wright said the results meant the pools should be closed and formally investigated.

Dr Wright told The Daily Telegraph “based on these results urgent follow-up sampling and investigation is needed and frankly, pool operators and NSW Health should consider shutting the pools until more detailed tests are available.”

The results from the five pools follow a public health warning issued in December when NSW Health warned swimmers to avoid pubic pools after 56 people were struck down in less than a month with a parasitic infection.

Sonic Food and Water Testing told The Daily Telegraph the bacteria counts recorded at this week’s testing sites breached NSW Health guidelines and indicated that water health was poor.

Secondary testing of E.coli and the dangerous pseudomonas aeruginosa strands at the five pools were within Australian guideline standards.

A spokesman for Sonic Food and Water Testing  said about 15% of samples from commercial swimming pools in Sydney record similarly high readings.

The spokesperson advised “the results can fluctuate greatly depending on the time of day and how many people are in the pool.

“If I was a pool manager I would be a bit worried getting these results and I would retest the water the next day. If they were still very high I would be looking at a disinfection program.

“A lot of pools do not adjust their chemical loadings over summer and when it is really hot or lots of people are in the pool they might need to do three times as much as normal over summer.”

With NSW Health advising that it was the responsibility of operators to maintain pool health, a spokesman for Liverpool City Council - responsible for the Whitlam Leisure Centre - said the pool had been closed multiple times in the past year due to contamination.

The spokesperson stated “as per standard operating procedures, pools have been closed in the past 12 months on occasions when water quality was affected by vomit or soiling.”

A spokesman for the City of Sydney’s Prince Alfred Park Pool and Victoria Park Pool confirmed the facilities had recorded minor levels of bacteria during their own tests in recent weeks. However, he said the levels were within acceptable guidelines.

The City of Sydney spokesperson advised “manual chlorine testing is completed daily prior to the pool opening, then a further minimum three times throughout the day..

“Bacterial testing is completed monthly and super chlorination is completed weekly. Following several verbal discussions with a media outlet, we are concerned their water samples, said to have been taken at our pools, may not have been taken in accordance with appropriate practices.”

A Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre spokesman “refuted” the test results but revealed two lap pools had tested positive for minor levels of microbes on 11th January.

He advised “Council has a robust methodology of monitoring water quality at Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre.” 

Images: Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (top) and Prince Alfred Park Pool (below)

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