Council to investigate improving safety at Mermaid Pools

Wollondilly council will assess whether safety could be improved at Mermaid Pools in Tahmoor, after a British tourist was injured at the site over the weekend.

Several people have now died or been seriously injured at Tahmoor’s Mermaid Pools. Picture: Simon Bullard

Wollondilly council will assess whether safety could be improved at Mermaid Pools in Tahmoor, after a British tourist was injured at the site over the weekend.

The woman and her boyfriend jumped into the water from cliffs up to 10m high at about 1.30pm on Saturday.

The woman reportedly screamed in pain and said she could not feel her legs, after her back impacted heavily on the water.

She was airlifted to Liverpool Hospital to determine the extent of her injuries.

Picton Fire and Rescue also saved a family pet from the pools on the weekend, after the pooch was found at the bottom of a waterhole.

The incidents followed the death of a Pakistani tourist at the site less than two months ago.

It is believed 27-year-old Adnan Khan-Afridi also jumped from the rocks before he was pulled unconscious from the pools and died a short time later on December 30.

Wollondilly Council put several warning signs in place at the site, after Campbelltown resident Megan Moody fell to her death in November 2014.

Wollondilly mayor Judy Hannan said council wanted to reiterate that jumping into the pools was extremely dangerous.

“The beauty of the area can often distract visitors from the dangers of the walk to the pools and of the pool themselves,” she said.

“Changing weather patterns and storm events can significantly alter water flow, water depth and create hidden obstacles under the water that make swimming in natural waterholes a dangerous recreational activity and persons choosing to do so, do at their own risk.

“Being a natural bushland area, it is impracticable for Council to stop people from accessing this location for swimming, but we do want to reiterate that jumping or diving into the water at Mermaid Pools is extremely dangerous and should not be done.”

Signage on the fence at the Scouts entrance off Rockford Rd advises of no access to the area, while signs at Potholes Reserve warn potential swimmers about the hazards at the site, including another sign painted onto the rock edge of the pool.

“As it is a natural reserve council does not provide any formal access to the site and hence there is no specific asset maintenance in the area,” Cr Hannan said.

“Council will be undertaking another inspection to assess what other actions can be done that is within our capabilities to do so.”