A MOUNT Gambier resident has questioned whether the city’s public toilets are meeting minimum health standards, raising concerns over their safety for residents and visitors.
Under the SA Health Code of Practice for The Provision of Facilities for Sanitation and Personal Hygiene, public toilets should feature a continuous supply of running water, liquid soap and facilities for drying hands, where practicable.
Mount Gambier City Council has earmarked works to improve council-owned public amenities across the city, including rebuilding some toilet blocks, acknowledging it has a responsibility to maintain the facilities.
However, retiree Bernard Wartenberg said despite raising concerns with council, several public toilet blocks across the city did not offer liquid soap and hand drying fixtures were not installed.
With the code stating facilities for sanitation and personal hygiene “must” be maintained in a clean and hygienic condition, Mr Wartenberg believes the public’s health is at risk.
“They are unsafe, they are not private and it is just not good enough for a place like Mount Gambier which professes to be what it is and wants tourists to stay longer,” Mr Wartenberg said.
“They are totally unacceptable and they should actually be closed, they are a health risk.”
After lobbying council to improve public toilet facilities around the city for over 18 months, Mr Wartenberg said he was fed up with the lack of change.
“It’s disappointing that only a small effort has gone into investigating the issue as a whole,” Mr Wartenberg said.
“When I did another check of some public conveniences around a month ago, three of them – and more since – did not have a hand drying facility.
“There’s been an attempt to improve the facilities, but not a full-hearted attempt that shows a recognition of the responsibilities they have as council.”
Mr Wartenberg cited a number of toilets which he believed were unsatisfactory, including those situated at Reidy Park oval, Olympic Park, Hastings Cunnigham Reserve and the Lady Nelson Tourist Information Centre.
“When you have tourist destinations, you have to realise what times of the year we are reaching our peak and it may be that you do not clean them once a day, you need to clean them three times a day,” he said.
“The cleaners should be back having a presence, not just once a day.”
Council infrastructure general manager Nick Serle said the local government body was aware of its responsibility to maintain public toilets.
“The City of Mount Gambier understands the importance of maintaining public toilets to a clean standard for both visitors and residents and aims to achieve this with a regular cleaning service to all council-owned facilities,” he said.
“Council recognises the need to continue to invest in public toilets and as part of prudent asset management there are plans in the forward works program to rebuild a number of public toilets in the coming years.”
Mr Serle also cited works which have been conducted in recent years to improve the public toilets in some areas of the city.
“In recent years council has constructed new public toilets including automated facilities at the Old Hospital Laundry, the railway signal box building and Margaret Street and the railway lands walkthrough and the ‘changing places’ facility on James Street and refreshed facilities at Frew Park and AF Sutton Reserve,” he said.
“There are also plans to refurbish the Cave Garden toilets before the end of the current financial year.”
Mr Wartenberg conceded there were impressive facilities at the Old Hospital Laundry, but believed they were “overkill” for that area of the city.
“They are not consistent with what the public toilets are in the rest of Mount Gambier, they are pristine, automated, fancy, talking to you toilets that are self-cleaning,” he said.
“Realistically, they should have been built at the Lady Nelson Visitor Information Centre, because they leave them for dead.
“I am sure most people would be happy to use those toilets at the Old Hospital Laundry, but hardly anyone knows they are even there.”
Mr Wartenberg was scheduled to meet with council last night to discuss the issue.
