THE torrential rain that has pummelled the Hunter for several days has also caused two pool closures at a Lake Macquarie swim centre.
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Charlestown Swim Centre was forced to close two separate pools in the space of one week due to heavy rain.
The learn to swim pool was closed from Friday February 16 to Sunday February 18 and all classes were cancelled after stormwater runoff entered the pool during torrential rainfall on Thursday evening.
"Staff closed the pool and cancelled scheduled classes when they discovered the run-off on Friday morning," a spokesperson from Lake Macquarie Council said.
"The pool has been fully treated and tested and is now operating as normal."
In a second incident staff were forced to close the 50 metre pool about 9.30am on Tuesday February 20 "as a precautionary measure after a heavy downpour caused a water outlet on the swim centre site to overflow".
"This overflow did not enter the pool, but staff removed swimmers and closed the pool as a precaution. We don't believe any swimmers were exposed to contaminated water," the spokesperson said.
A Hunter Water crew was on site on Tuesday to assess the situation. The main overflow problem was occurring on a nearby grassed area and as of Tuesday afternoon the water had not contaminated the pool.
It comes after intense downpours caused flash flooding across many parts of the region this week. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the Nobbys weather station recorded 45mm of rain between 5.30pm on Thursday and 12.30am on Friday - almost 30mm fell between 10.30pm and 11pm.
Newcastle council is considering storm water upgrades around the flooding hot spot at the King and Steel street intersection in Newcastle West after the recent deluge.
The busy intersection most recently went underwater on February 15, prompting the early end of a gig at the King Street Bandroom after water washed into the venue.
Jessica Brown
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
