❓ Hon Michelle Hofmann questions the Department of Health regarding elevated Enterococci levels at Pinnaroo Point, querying the assessment of public health implications, lack of notification, and public warnings. The Minister responds that the Department assessed long-term data and found no active pollution events warranting a public warning.
AnsweredQoN 1144Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the report titled Independent Investigation into Water Quality and Local Current Flows at Mullaloo Beach , prepared by O₂ Metocean for the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and issued on 24 January 2025 (the O₂ Report), and I refer specifically to Table 14, which records Enterococci concentrations at Pinnaroo Point of 640 MPN/100 mL on 2 November 2022 and 100 MPN/100 mL on 31 January 2024, levels that exceed the National Health and Medical Research Council’s primary contact guideline of 40 MPN/100 mL and, in the case of 640 MPN/100 mL, represent approximately 16 times the safe threshold, and I ask: (a) how did the Department assess the public health implications of these exceedances, given their magnitude and the recognised risks associated with elevated faecal contamination; (b) why were no notifiable exceedances declared in relation to these results, despite the measurements exceeding accepted recreational water quality guidelines; (c) what advice or warnings, if any, were issued to the public at the time these unsafe levels were recorded; (d) can the Minister explain why these exceedances were not classified as notifiable, given that the O₂ Report identifies them as concentrations above the laboratory Limit of Reporting and above recreational safety thresholds; and (e) will the Minister table all documents, including internal emails, memos, and briefing notes, relating to the Department’s response to these elevated Enterococci readings?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
24 February 2026
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary representing the Minister for Health
Response time
5 days
(a)-(e)
The results were obtained through the Recreational Waters Microbial Monitoring Program overseen by the Department of Health in conjunction with relevant local Governments.
The Department of Health assess long-term bacterial water quality results and assign temporary beach grades to these popular recreational and other environmental water locations in accordance with the Guidelines for Managing Risks in Recreational Water.
Through this assessment, the Department did not identify any active pollution events that would be a risk to the community and therefore there was no need for a public warning.
The results were obtained through the Recreational Waters Microbial Monitoring Program overseen by the Department of Health in conjunction with relevant local Governments.
The Department of Health assess long-term bacterial water quality results and assign temporary beach grades to these popular recreational and other environmental water locations in accordance with the Guidelines for Managing Risks in Recreational Water.
Through this assessment, the Department did not identify any active pollution events that would be a risk to the community and therefore there was no need for a public warning.
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