Pools, spas and other recreational water bodies
We all value the importance of our built and natural recreational water environments. By promoting proactive management and healthy swimming practices, we can support the health and wellbeing of all who use them.
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Recreational water body management falls into two categories.
Public aquatic facilities
Public aquatic facilities include venues such as swimming pools, spas and water parks that are commonly used by the public. They may be publicly or privately-operated and may or may not charge a fee for access.
Proactive management and adoption of healthy swimming behaviours can help to prevent the contamination of public aquatic facilities.
Whilst there are no Queensland Government laws for water quality at public aquatic facilities, the Public Health Act 2005 requires that water within the facility must not pose a public health risk. Local councils are responsible for enforcing this requirement and many have introduced specific local laws to support this.
The Queensland Health water quality guidelines for public aquatic facilities (PDF, 2.3 MB) provide water quality criteria for public aquatic facilities and practical operational advice for operators. These guidelines also recommend response procedures for dealing with incidents such as faecal releases into a pool or remediating water that has been contaminated with Cryptosporidium.
The guidelines recommend that certain facilities develop site-specific risk management plans. If you are an operator or manager of a public aquatic facility that is recommended to develop a site-specific risk management plan, you can develop one using our site-specific risk management plan template (DOCX, 4.5 MB).
Waterways and beaches
Recreational water quality is not regulated at natural water bodies in Queensland, such as lakes, rivers and ocean beaches. The best source of information on water quality at these locations is your local council. Additional information on water quality in South East Queensland can be found at the Healthy Land and Water website.
Guidelines provided by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) help protect Australians from threats posed by the recreational use of coastal, estuarine, and freshwater environments. They provide a best-practice, hands-on, practical approach to help those managing recreational water quality. The NHMRC is currently updating these materials. View the current guidelines for managing risks in recreational water.
