Parnell Baths Still Lack Popular Appeal

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 563, 16 January 1929, Page 1

Parnell Baths Still Lack Popular Appeal

SILT AND CONFUSION CLOSING WITHOUT NOTICE Improvements on the bad conditions last summer have been made at the Parnell Baths, but the state of the water and the arrangements for opening are still far from satisfactory. Cleaning should be carried out more frequently. The.se are opinions of swimming officials and users of the baths. The main complaint of the users is that they are not sure when the baths are closed for cleaning. One man at Point Resolution went to the baths live times and. on three occasions. the baths wer* being cleaned. Large attendances during the week-ends are usual at the baths, but, on Saturday last, the state of the water was sufficient to turn many would-be bathers away. The baths had been cleaned only two days before. An official of the Parnell Swimming Club points out the seriousness of the conditions from the point of view of public health when the water becomes unsatisfactory within two days of cleaning. He also stresses the absence of suitably prominent notices when the baths are closed. One explanation of the irregular cleaning operations, he points out, is that the baths are cleaned most satisfactorily when the tide is full out. PUMPS IN USE In face of the complaints, the users appreciate the distinct improvement at the baths, and the City Council is given credit for doing its best within limits for the bathers. Pumps have lately been used for clearing the silt from the baths. Many people object to what they describe as the over-use of chlorine in keeping the water pure, and there is a large percentage of the public which thinks that the ratepayers made a mistake in rejecting the loan proposal for a purification plant. Under the present conditions there is no doubt that the public is rot receiving a satisfactory service from the baths. People want the baths to be cleaned more often. An official of the Auckland Swimming Centre says that thousands of people will not use the baths until the question of thorough silt clearance has been solved. Scum on the surface of the water on Monday, this week, to one resident of Point Resolution, was as bad as he had seen it on any •ccasion previously. One factor which makes the use of pumps for clearing the silt necessary is that the pipe line leading from 'he baths to the harbour is above the base level of the seaward end of the baths.