❓ Question regarding the safety of the Elizabeth Quay water park following its closure. Minister assures public safety was never at risk, closure due to system overload, and upgrades are planned before reopening.
AnsweredQoN 102Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELIZABETH QUAY — WATER PARK
102. Ms E. EVANGEL to the Minister for
Health:
I am aware of the continuing
interest in the closure of the Elizabeth Quay water park. Can the minister please
confirm that public health has not been put at risk since the park opened on 29
January?
102. Ms E. EVANGEL to the Minister for
Health:
I am aware of the continuing
interest in the closure of the Elizabeth Quay water park. Can the minister please
confirm that public health has not been put at risk since the park opened on 29
January?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
I know the member will be extraordinarily impressed with the number of people
from her electorate taking advantage of the magnificent facilities at Elizabeth
Quay. On almost a daily basis people tell me that they happened to go to
Elizabeth Quay, they were walking around there and what a fantastic place it
is. People are enjoying it so much.
I made a personal explanation today,
and I will reiterate that a little. The advice I was given by the health
department, which I said in this house, was that the water was clear. The
member who has just come back into the chamber called out that it took two
weeks to table it, and I take responsibility for that. I was not satisfied with
some of the answers that were put up or the detail that was being put up by the
Department of Health. We went through that —
Ms
R. Saffioti : You lied!
Withdrawal of Remark
The SPEAKER : Can you withdraw
that, please.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : I withdraw.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you. I call you to order for the third time.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Dr
K.D. HAMES : The Minister for Planning and I had meetings and discussions
around what was done, when it was tested, how it was tested, the days it was
tested, the results that came back, what was done to fix it and all of those
things. We have satisfied ourselves that public safety was never put at risk.
Mr
W.J. Johnston : Why did you close it?
Dr
K.D. HAMES : It was closed because it would have put the safety of people at
risk. Members need to understand that there is testing in the trough. Water
runs off people into a trough for collection. It then goes through the filter
and gets tested. It is treated through there. It goes into the balance tank and
the water comes back onto the people. That balance tank testing showed no
organisms of risk to the public. That Pseudomonas was discovered on the fourteenth, I think it was. Even when those tests came
back and showed Pseudomonas was
there, it was in the troughs and the discharge pipes, not in the balance tank.
The balance tank tested at that time for Pseudomonas was clear, so that is why it was determined by the director of public
health that there was no risk to the public and it was safe for that to be
opened. The problem is that it was designed to have a certain number of people—up
to 150—using it at any one time. Because it was such a popular location
and so many people went to it, the systems put in place were not able to cope
with that large number of people. The good news is that the fixing of it is not
too difficult. The advice from my health department is that the filters being
used, which are glass filters designed for that number of people, can be upgraded
to a different type of filter with a much better capacity. I am not sure how
much time it will take to put those in place. That has to be worked through,
but it can be done.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the first time.
Minister, a very quick answer.
Dr
K.D. HAMES : The final sentence: one thing I am sure of is that the park
will not be opened until it is safe to the public. But still, Elizabeth Quay
provides an amazing and popular facility for the public of Western Australia to
attend.
I know the member will be extraordinarily impressed with the number of people
from her electorate taking advantage of the magnificent facilities at Elizabeth
Quay. On almost a daily basis people tell me that they happened to go to
Elizabeth Quay, they were walking around there and what a fantastic place it
is. People are enjoying it so much.
I made a personal explanation today,
and I will reiterate that a little. The advice I was given by the health
department, which I said in this house, was that the water was clear. The
member who has just come back into the chamber called out that it took two
weeks to table it, and I take responsibility for that. I was not satisfied with
some of the answers that were put up or the detail that was being put up by the
Department of Health. We went through that —
Ms
R. Saffioti : You lied!
Withdrawal of Remark
The SPEAKER : Can you withdraw
that, please.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : I withdraw.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you. I call you to order for the third time.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Dr
K.D. HAMES : The Minister for Planning and I had meetings and discussions
around what was done, when it was tested, how it was tested, the days it was
tested, the results that came back, what was done to fix it and all of those
things. We have satisfied ourselves that public safety was never put at risk.
Mr
W.J. Johnston : Why did you close it?
Dr
K.D. HAMES : It was closed because it would have put the safety of people at
risk. Members need to understand that there is testing in the trough. Water
runs off people into a trough for collection. It then goes through the filter
and gets tested. It is treated through there. It goes into the balance tank and
the water comes back onto the people. That balance tank testing showed no
organisms of risk to the public. That Pseudomonas was discovered on the fourteenth, I think it was. Even when those tests came
back and showed Pseudomonas was
there, it was in the troughs and the discharge pipes, not in the balance tank.
The balance tank tested at that time for Pseudomonas was clear, so that is why it was determined by the director of public
health that there was no risk to the public and it was safe for that to be
opened. The problem is that it was designed to have a certain number of people—up
to 150—using it at any one time. Because it was such a popular location
and so many people went to it, the systems put in place were not able to cope
with that large number of people. The good news is that the fixing of it is not
too difficult. The advice from my health department is that the filters being
used, which are glass filters designed for that number of people, can be upgraded
to a different type of filter with a much better capacity. I am not sure how
much time it will take to put those in place. That has to be worked through,
but it can be done.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the first time.
Minister, a very quick answer.
Dr
K.D. HAMES : The final sentence: one thing I am sure of is that the park
will not be opened until it is safe to the public. But still, Elizabeth Quay
provides an amazing and popular facility for the public of Western Australia to
attend.
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