Sharon Webb

MEANDER VALLEY Council has declared a popular swimming spot at Bracknell off bounds yet again because of poo in the water.

General manager John Jordan said people who swim in the Liffey River on the Esplanade should seek medical advice but did not answer questions about what symptoms might be caused by the contaminated water.

Nor did the mayor, Wayne Johnston, after the Gazette emailed him twice about the issue.

Neither responded to questions about what needed to happen to clear the contamination and would not comment on the cause of the problem.

Former Meander Valley councillor Ian Mackenzie said the problem happens most summers because drainage from the town’s septic tanks goes into the Liffey upstream of the swimming hole.

‘The council should have done something about it long ago when they owned the water system. TasWater will never do it. They’re a law unto themselves.’

A 15 February notice on the council’s website states that recent sampling identified water quality in the Liffey River at Bracknell as unsuitable for recreational use.

But when the Gazette visited the site a week later, campers there said they had watched two people swimming at the site that morning.

The Public Health Act 1997 requires testing of recreational water and dictates closure of the site ‘where two consecutive water samples are greater than 280 enterococci per 100 ml’.

Enterococci is faecal matter in the water.

A description on the US Environment Protection Agency website says,‘Enterococciare indicators of the presence of faecal material in water and, therefore, of the possible presence of disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and protozoa.

‘These pathogens can sicken swimmers and others who use rivers and streams for recreation ... Other potential health effects can include diseases of the skin, eyes, ears and respiratory tract.’

The council’s website states that environmental health officers regularly sample water at four swimming

locations across the Meander Valley between December and March.

As well as the Bracknell site, council officers also monitor sites at the Meander River at Egmont Reserve, Birralee Road, Westbury, at the South Esk River at Lions Park, off Main Street, Hadspen, and at Lake Trevallyn at Blackstone Park Drive, off Kelsey Road, Blackstone.

Mr Jordan said, ‘Any person who may have swum in the water and has any symptoms or other health questions should seek the advice of a qualified medical practitioner.’