Ocean pool advocates say a site south of Quinns Beach could be suitable.
Camera IconOcean pool advocates say a site south of Quinns Beach could be suitable. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Ocean pool plan for Quinns

Lucy JarvisNorth Coast Times

Advisory Group for Ocean Pools representatives Professor John Bloomfield and Tom Locke visited the Mindarie site recommended by campaigner Lewis Flood recently.

Mr Locke said he swam around the site and found that, apart from a few obstacles, the existing rock would suit a potential tidal pool.

"At the south end of Quinns Beach, 150m from the main entry point of the surf club, it's a rocky outcrop," he said.

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"It's a natural groyne within rock; what we would do is extend the head of that and run it back to the beach."

They said another adviser, former UWA Centre for Water Research director Jorg Imberger, was overseas but had looked at Google Earth and other data for the site.

"He says it is in an ideal location to be able to be self-flushing so the pool doesn't need to be cleaned or maintained," Mr Locke said.

He said he had been working on a proposal to build a tidal pool in Cottesloe for 14 years before Premier Colin Barnett ruled it out last year.

A sports scientist, Prof Bloomfield said ocean pools could have health and social benefits for the community.

He and Mr Locke prepared a paper supporting the concept of ocean pools, which they said they could present to any councils interested in building the facilities.

In it, they said there were about 90 ocean and estuary swimming pools in New South Wales, which were free for public use.

They said the pools could be used for recreational swimming, lessons, hydrotherapy for people with disabilities, social water polo and surf life saving nippers training.

"Such a pool would also aid in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes, and provide a safe and relaxing environment for exercise," they said. "Natural salt water enables a person to float higher than they can in fresh water, so that learners, as well as disabled and older swimmers, are able to swim more easily."

Tourism was another potential benefit they listed and they said there was potential to heat it by tapping into underground geo-thermal water.

"Perth's shoreline is located above an aquifer from which hot salty water can be fed into the pool; this would allow year-round swimming to take place," they said.

Wanneroo City Council will tonight consider a motion by Cr Sabine Winton to investigate an ocean pool in the current feasibility study for long-term solutions to erosion at Quinns Beach.