ABSTRACT

Recreational parks in the Hunter New England region of New South Wales, Australia, are very popular. Ensuring drinking water safety in the parks requires the application of a considered risk management approach. The study evaluated the compliance of public recreational parks with the NSW Public Health Act 2010 and NSW Public Health Regulation 2012 requirements to implement Quality Assurance Programs. Between March and August 2016, drinking water supplies in 54 national and three state recreational sites in regional Hunter New England were surveyed to evaluate whether the recommendations from the initial survey of 2010–2011 were implemented. The results were compared to the first survey results. All recreational sites developed and implemented drinking water quality assurance programs, compared to four during the first survey. Fifty two of 57 (91%) sites had warning signs at water outlets compared to 34 (60%) during the first survey. There were statistically significant improvements in the provision of water quality warning signs and implementation of water quality assurance programs (p < 0.0001 McNemar Chi² Test) between the first and second surveys demonstrating a good example of beneficial policy change, with regulatory support. Further research is required to understand the ongoing challenges of drinking water management in recreational parks.

摘要

澳大利亚新南威尔士州的猎人新英格兰地区的休闲公园非常受欢迎。为了确保公园的饮用水安全，需要采用经过考虑的风险管理方法。该研究评估了公共游乐园是否符合《 2010年新南威尔士州公共卫生法》和《 2012年新南威尔士州公共卫生条例》中有关实施质量保证计划的要求。2016年3月至2016年8月，对新英格兰地区Hunter的54个国家和三个州娱乐场所的饮用水供应进行了调查，以评估是否实施了2010-2011年初始调查中的建议。将结果与第一次调查结果进行比较。与第一次调查中的四个相比，所有娱乐场所都制定并实施了饮用水质量保证计划。57个站点中有52个（91％）的水出口处有警告标志，而第一次调查时有34个（60％）。在第一次和第二次调查之间，提供水质警告标志和执行水质保证计划（p  <0.0001 McNemar Chi ²测试）在统计上有显着改善，这是在监管支持下有益政策变化的一个很好的例子。需要进一步研究以了解游乐园中饮用水管理的持续挑战。