Auckland Council pools report significant rise in 'Code Brown' incidents

So-called 'code brown' incidents at Auckland swimming pools hit a record during summer, prompting Auckland Council to push out an educational campaign on this public health issue.

As reported by TVNZ, the  Council is now promoting an educational campaign after a significant increase in faecal incidents in its public pools during the past summer.

One pool worker told Seven Sharp there are upwards of about 25 incidents a month of pool users defecating in the water.

‘Alex’, who is responsible for dealing with 'code browns' at West Wave Pool and Leisure Centre, advised “across the region there's about one hundred across the summer.”

Citing having to deal with three code browns during a single day, Alex added “(the) main culprits are the little kids, the under-threes, the ones that haven't been toilet trained.”

Alex said a swim nappy on a youngster can avoid the problem "100%”, advising “the swim nappy is really good at just containing those little accidents."

The protocol at West Wave is for the pool to be closed immediately after such an incident, the excrement being scooped from the pool and flushed down a toilet with the soiled pool water is then removed.

Alex added "we basically reverse the way the water flows through the filter, push it all back out, take some of that dirty water out from the incident and put it into the sewers to get rid of it.

"We have got to re-sterilise it and make it a lot cleaner than it normally would be."

Click here to view regulations for entry to the West Wave Pool and Leisure Centre.

Image: Swimming lessons at the West Wave Pool and Leisure Centre. Image, courtesy of Auckland Council, used for illustrative purposes only.

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23rd December 2015 - POOL MANAGERS NEED TO BE AWARE OF WATERBORNE BUGS THROUGH SUMMER 

11th June 2015 - NAPPY SUPPLIER TARGETS ‘CODE BROWN’ AQUATIC CENTRE INCIDENTS 

26th March 2015 - SERIAL DEFECATOR CAUSES WEEKLY CLOSURES OF SOUTHLAND AQUATIC CENTRE

15th December 2013 - VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT ISSUES SUMMER REMINDER ON HEALTHY SWIMMING POOL HABITS 

10th November 2009 - WEST WAVE AQUATIC CENTRE NAMED WAITAKERE’S BEST LARGE BUSINESS

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