Education on Faecal Incidents

Pool Closures due to a Faecal Incident

Here at the WRC, all kids aged three and under are required to wear a swim nappy or close-fitted swimwear to prevent faecal incidents, which mean the pools have to be evacuated and decontaminated. This can put the pools out of action for several hours and this causes frustration and inconvenience to our users and a lot of work for our staff.

Our friendly reception and lifeguard staff actively monitor this and to make it as easy as possible, we sell swim nappies right here for just $2.70. Please don't be offended if we ask if your wee one has a swim nappy on - we're just trying to make sure being at the pool is an enjoyable experience for everyone.

In most instances, it's not possible to pinpoint who had the accident. So to be fair to everyone, if you have a wee one, pop a swim nappy on them. If you have a slightly older wee one, toilet them regularly to avoid any accidents. And if you're unwell, please visit another day when you're feeling better.

By following these simple rules, it will allow everyone to come and enjoy the great pools here at the WRC.

Following a faecal incident, why do we have to close the pool?

• As a PoolSafe Accredited Pool we must abide by the New Zealand Pool Water Quality Standards (NZS 5826:2010).
• Faecal matter, vomit and blood from another human can carry dangerous diseases like Cryptosporidium and Giardia. Closing the pool ensures these potential risks are not spread to other pool users.
• All Faecal incidents must be noted and recorded with the information available to the Health Department should a notifiable disease outbreak occur.

What happens before the pool can be reopened?

• The pool must be evacuated and isolated immediately once faecal matter, blood or vomit has been identified.
• Removal of any solid matter.
• The pool must then be dosed with high levels of chlorine, added to kill any living germs in the water (chlorine must be dosed in excess of 100 mg/l) this level is not safe for humans to swim in.
• The pool vacuum cleaner is put into the pool to collect any other pieces of matter that may have been missed or that are too small for the human eye to locate.
• The pool must be retested to ensure the additional chlorine has dispersed before we can allow people to re-enter the pool.

Why don't we fine the perpetrator?

• Some of the incidents we treat can be as small as grains of rice which can make it hard to spot instantly and then narrow down who "did it".
• Most people are embarrassed and leave instantly before the faecal has been spotted.
• Accidents do happen and if someone becomes ill quickly they may have no warning.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.