Dogs in Tusmore Wading Pool puts pressure on facility's cleaning operations

The City of Burnside pool maintenance team has over recent weeks found dog paw prints, dog hair "and more" within the water of the Tusmore Wading Pool which requires additional clean-up efforts and places greater pressure on the pool’s filtration system to maintain a constant chlorine level.

The City of Burnside, covering an area from the Adelaide Parklands into the Adelaide foothills, advise that with thousands of visitors coming to the Tusmore Wading Pool each summer, Council works closely with the Eastern Health Authority to ensure the pool meets stringent chemical safety requirements so that all users remain healthy.

In the interest of community health and wellbeing several rules are in place, including that no dogs are allowed in the water and that all dogs within 20 metres of the pool must be on a lead.

Dog hair that is trapped by the pool filter can also cause blockages, which would lead to pool closures for repair works.

External contaminants, such as those brought in by dogs, greatly increase the risk of serious bacteria being present in the water, including E.coli (which can cause stomach cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting) and staphylococcus (which can cause severe infections).

Dogs also greatly increase the chance of bringing enteroviruses and Cryptosporidium into the pool, which are both chlorine resistant and can have negative health impacts on both children and adults.

As per the South Australian Public Health Act, a person who owns or has the care or control of an animal must not allow the animal to enter a public swimming pool or public spa pool, with a maximum penalty of $1,250 if this is breached.

Dogs are not allowed in the Tusmore Wading Pool and Council encourages all visitors to call out this behaviour if they see it.

By having dogs in the pool there is an increased risk to the health and safety of all pool users, a higher incurred cost to ratepayers due to additional cleaning operations and the inconvenience of more closures required for cleaning. If you see someone deliberately breaking the rules, contact Council on 8366 4200.