Filling your pool

When filling your pool it’s important that you don’t contaminate our water supply through backflow, as this can seriously affect the quality and safety of drinking water.

As a property owner you are responsible for making sure you do not contaminate the public water supply. You will need to install one of the following to prevent backflow from your pool or spa to the water supply

  • If you are connected to a mains pressure council water supply you must fit a  vacuum breaker to the hose tap for the hose that fills the pool. These are available from hardware stores.
  • In all cases if you have automatic chlorination equipment connected to your water supply a medium hazard backflow device such as a double check valve must be fitted between the chlorinator and your water supply connection.

Discuss what’s best for your pool or spa with your pool supplier or plumbing merchant. Also refer to Backflow Prevention Requirements.

Emptying your pool

Help protect our rivers, streams and wetlands. Do the right thing when you empty your pool.

The water in your swimming or spa pool has chlorine and other substances that are harmful to the environment and toxic to fish. Therefore all chlorinated water, saltwater and filter-backwash water must be discharged into the wastewater network via the pool plumbing to a gully trap.

Additional things to consider when emptying your pool:

  • If doing this at the end of summer, please do it during dry weather when the wastewater network is better able to cope with the extra flow of water.
  • If your pool is in-ground, you may need to take precautionary measures to address groundwater pressure on the empty pool.
  • If you live on a flat rural property, your pool can be emptied directly to the ground – but:
    • you will need to take care that it does not drain into a watercourse or impact another property,
    • do not drain into a septic tank system, and
    • check any chemical levels, in particular chlorine, to ensure they are low before emptying the pool as these can have an impact on plantings.