The World s Largest Inflatable Water Slide A Public Health Nightmare Presenters: Megan Savill - EH Team Leader Michelle Speek - Senior EHO
Cessnock LGA is located in the Hunter Valley, approx. 2hrs (120km) north of Sydney Population of approx. 55,000 Approx. 2 million tourists per year Cessnock City Council is proactive in its approach to public health, reducing the reputation risk to the tourism industry and local economy. Introduction
Overview of Proposal World s largest water slides proposed in the vineyards 3 x 400m water slides and a 50m children s slide Proposal includes day & night sliding, live music, amusement rides, food and alcohol The company organising the event states that they pride themselves on their ability to put on a successful and safe, fun event
Development Application DA received 3 January 2017 No pre-da or consultation prior to application being lodged event proposed to be held January long weekend (3 week turnaround) EHOs to liaise with Hunter New England Population Health, neighbouring LGA, event organiser and pool testing operator Pollution Prevention Plan submitted with DA no public health concerns addressed re water quality
Hunter New England Population Health made contact with Council after contacting the organiser to express concerns about water quality management at the event Event coordinator responded to Hunter New England Population Health stating the water technician will ensure correct PH levels and monitor for any other possible water contaminations and will authorise water changes when necessary. Consultation
Consultation cont. Hunter New England Population Health advises that a neighbouring LGA had previously hosted the inflatable waterslide event and had concerns The EHO at Muswellbrook advised: event organisers were advised to implement disinfection of slides Provide suitable matting to beginning and end of slides to prevent mud and contaminants entering the slide
The vision
Water quality issues identified during assessment Water filtration/ recirculation No automated disinfection dosing proposed Slides were not protected from contaminants Children s waterslide did not require young children to wear swim nappies Safety considerations related to accidents only Raised concerns that event organiser had limited knowledge of Public Health requirements Who is testing water quality and what are they testing?
Other issues identified No mention of temporary food stall requirements (notification & construction) No acoustic report provided (live music, slide use) General safety of patrons (liquor & watersliding, entanglement?)
Blindness caused by contaminated mud at mud run In 2015 mud debris resulted in bacteria destroying the cornea of a woman s eye, sending the woman blind within 24 hours. The infection, necrotising fasciitis, was introduced into the woman s eye when mud debris, contaminated with animal faeces, scratched her cornea.
EH conditions for DA Waterslides are defined as a Public Swimming Pool under Public Health Act (Sec 34) All water to be disinfected with Chlorine or Bromine Inspections to be carried out and water sampling and analysis undertaken to assess compliance with the requirements of the PH Act and Regs Mats at the end and beginning of the slides to assist in reducing the spread of mud and other contaminants being brought onto the slide Nappy requirements for Children Under 3 Cleaning of toilets and provision of hand washing and drying facilities
EH conditions cont. Wastewater Disposal by pump out tank not to ground Food notification and compliance with AS4674 and temporary food guidelines Live music removed from proposal Slide finish must not enable entanglement or likely to trap or injure a user Reputable and suitably qualified person to undertake water sampling including hourly testing of ph, free chlorine, total chlorine and alkalinity parameters AND testing every 20 mins with a test strip Requested debrief report after the event including water sampling log sheets, an acoustic assessment and details of any adverse incidents
On the day. Rain for several days prior to the event The entire site was impacted by mud Vehicles were bogged from the beginning of the day
Reality
Observations on the day Council Officers observed Patrons struggling through mud from the car park, to the food vendors and to the slides Most patrons, including young children, were in swimmers and were barefoot Expected patronage numbers were down due to the conditions on the day The children s pool was not operating at the time of the inspection as the water pump had failed Event organisers ran out of water as the water tankers were unable to get to the top of the hill!
Observations cont. Slide walls collapsed resulting in overflowing water and a mud bath! Matting requested was not sufficient small amount of fake turf noted but was not large enough to form a barrier and to prevent contact with the grass and mud Reviewed the water quality log sheets from the qualified certified pool operator to assess compliance
Water quality and testing Water contained a large accumulation of mud, grass and associated matter Patrons were in some cases covered from head to toe in mud and were seen using the slides Water samples taken at the pool and midway up the slides. Samples were unable to be taken at the top of the slide for all three slides Results: ph was too high which completely negated the ability of free chlorine to act as disinfecting agent
Reality
Disinfection results Chemical criteria for chlorine-based swimming pool: Parameter Situation Slide 1 Slide 2 Slide 3 Criterion Free Available Chlorine Outdoor Pool 1.9 0.77 3.0 >1.0mg/L (ph < 7.6) >3.0mg/L (ph > 7.6) ph 8.05 7.4 8.1 7.0-7.8 Note: ph must never rise above 7.8 in a chlorine disinfection system because of the significant loss of disinfection power. Variance in ph due to differences in readings between contractor and Council test kit. Advised contractor to maintain ph between 7.0 & 7.3 on his device to ensure ph remains within prescribed range.
Microbiological Criteria Council EHOs conducted sampling of the midpoint and bottom pool for the three large slides. Water samples were delivered the same day to a NATA accredited laboratory and were tested for : 1. Heterotrophic Colony Count (36 degrees C) - Indicates poor disinfection and filtration 2. Thermotolerant Coliforms & E. coli - Considered the best indicator of faecal contamination in water 3. Pseudomonas aeruginosa - Pseudomonas is a bacteria found in the environment such as in soil, water and plants - Infections can be severe in people whose immune systems are already compromised. Causes ear, eye and skin infections
Microbiological Results Heterotrophic Colony Count (HPC) E-coli Pseudomonas aeruginosa Unit Slide 2 Mid CFU/ ml CFU/ 100mL CFU/ 100mL Slide 3 Mid Slide 1 Bottom Slide 2 Bottom Slide 3 Bottom Criterion 1900 5700 48 62 71 <100 cfu/1 ml 1600 100 2 1 <1 <1 cfu/100 ml 100 4 0 2 <10 <1 cfu/100 ml Note: Slide 1 failed during inspection so sampling from mid point was not available
Discussion of Results Disinfection/ sampling point Sampling point Results were unexpected as we had predicted that water quality at the bottom of the slide would be the worst Poor water quality at mid slide suggests contaminants entering from top of slide Source? Bathers or initial water source
Reality
What we learnt Disinfection is required from the top of the slide Wash down areas required at the top of the slide Larger ground covering to the entry and from the exit of slides Supervision of the slides preventing muddy patrons from entering slides Obtain copies of contracts for the provision of potable water and disposal of wastewater as part of DA consent. Bunded area for management/containment of potential wastewater spills no possibility of impacting structural integrity of rides, temporary infrastructure Requirement to disinfect slides and pools before and after each use and between sessions.
Questions?