Wylie’s Baths octopus killed by chlorine

The Wylie’s Baths Trust and the Randwick City Council are in damage control mode after the Baths’ much-loved resident octopus was killed by an overzealous cleaner using chlorine.

The incident at the popular Coogee swimming spot occurred late last month, and came to wider attention last week when the Trust admitted it had used chlorine to clean the Baths.
“As you may be aware, very regrettably our resident octopus recently died, apparently as a result of chlorine contamination in the pool,” said a statement attributed to the Trust, posted on the Wylie’s Baths website.

“Chlorine has been used to clean the pool surrounds for many years. It is a necessary function of our duty of care to manage serious slip hazards caused by the build-up of marine growth.

“The success or otherwise of the cleaning process is a complex issue, dependent upon many factors including frequency, volume, timing, tide, temperature and swell. It appears in this instance, we got it wrong.

“Wylie’s Baths Trust and Management are engaging Randwick City Council and the [Environmental Protection Authority] on the matter and will be reviewing our pool cleaning procedures as part of the investigation.”

The death of the octopus – thought to be a Common Sydney Octopus  (Octopus tetricus) – has inflamed local anger, and raised questions about whether chlorine is an appropriate cleaning agent for a saltwater ocean pool.

“Why do we need to interfere, why do we need to dump chlorine into a pool that is flushed out daily by the sea?” asked Nicholas Triggs, in one of many angry comments posted on Facebook about the incident.

“I didn’t think they used chlorine, isn’t that the point of ocean baths?” said Tessa Louise.

“There’s chlorine in an ocean pool?” asked an incredulous Valerie Foley.

The Randwick City Council, which owns the Baths, said it was not Council policy to use chlorine in ocean pools, and would push the Wylie’s Baths Trust to adopt more environmentally friendly cleaning methods.

A Randwick City Council spokesperson said: “Randwick City Council sub-leases Wylie’s Baths to the Wylie’s Baths Trust, which is an independent body responsible for the management, care and control of Wylie’s Baths.

“Randwick Council does not use chlorine to clean any of the coastal pools it is responsible for, and instead uses a hot water pressure cleaning system.

“We are committed to safe maintenance practices which do not harm our local marine life.”