Collision of dust storm and rain clouds impacts pools across Victoria

January 29, 2020

Brown rain falling across Victoria on the night of Wednesday 22nd January, caused as a result of a dust storm and rain clouds colliding, has forced the closure of public swimming pools.

An Australian Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson confirmed that brown rain falling across Melbourne and parts of Victoria last Wednesday was a result of dust storms and not bushfire smoke.

Numerous pools confirmed their closure as of last Thursday.

The City of Moreland’s Brunswick Baths closed its outdoor pool on Thursday morning due to poor quality and visibility, advising on its Facebook page “we have had some much-needed rain overnight however, it has brought with it a lot of dust.

"(Pool water) clarity is very poor and unsafe at this time."

The pool reopened by the afternoon.

The City of Boroondara also closed its outdoor pools on Thursday, advising "due to the muddy rain that fell last night".

The Council advised "we are working hard on getting the pools back to an acceptable level of clarity and will let you know when they are reopened’, with the pools reopened as of last Friday.

Outside of Melbourne, the outdoor pool at Aquamoves Lakeside Shepparton.was also closed as a result of Wednesday night’s storm.

The pool reopened for the long weekend on Saturday morning (25th January), with the facility’s Facebook page advising “our outdoor pools are open again!

“We're excited to let you know that our outdoor 50m pool, outdoor leisure pool and Splash Park have been restored to their former glory after the recent dust storm and are now available to use again!

“We can also advise that the outdoor pools in Mooroopna, Tatura and Merrigum have all re-opened as well!”

Murrindindi Shire Council took longer to reopen its pools following the storm.

With all pools closed as of Thursday 23rd January, the Shire’s pools in Alexandra and Eildon reopened on Saturday 25th January, the Marysville Pool reopened on Sunday 26th January and the Yea Pool was back in business as of Monday 27th January.

The storm also casued Urbnsurf Melbourne to close for three days last week after muddy rain contaminated the pool.

The dust storms have also resulted in domestic swimming pool owners in Victoria inundating pool shops seeking a fix for their brown pools, resulting in a temporary chemical shortage.

SPLASH! magazine today reported that the most sought-after chemicals were flocculant and clarifiers.

Images: Brown rain impacted water quality at the outdoor pool at Aquamoves Lakeside Shepparton (top) and the City of Moreland’s Brunswick Baths (middle) while also landing on the pool covers at Murrindindi Shire Council's Alexandra pool (below).

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