by Carla Caruso

A former Adelaide Council election candidate, whose flagship policy was making the River Torrens swimmable again, has tentatively supported a pitch for a natural pool there.

Sam Taylor, now based in Canberra, created a viral sensation in 2018 with his Swim in the Torrens - 2025 Challenge, which he described as a “symbolic but tactile” target for cleaning up the polluted river.

Now Business SA has put forward a proposal to build a swimming area in the River Torrens/Karrawirra Parri, using treated river water. It’s part of Business SA’s 2022 State Election Charter.

Sam says the idea is a good “first step” in making the river and lake healthy and swimmable again for people and wildlife. 

“It’s a brilliant idea to put the environment front and centre and to acknowledge that the beauty and health of our natural spaces is what attracts people to cities - residents and tourists alike,” Sam said.

“What I wouldn’t like to see is a massive, over-engineered structure that became an eyesore and impinged upon public space by privatising it. We’ve just got rid of the bloody pontoon!

“I’m always sceptical when I see artist’s impressions that look really pretty. There are no fences, for example, in the pictures or somewhere for people to pay or for a lifeguard to sit.”

For Sam, it’d be ideal if the structure had a planned end-of-life of, say, 10 years, underlining the parallel need to also clean up the surrounding catchment.

“I think if it’s a permanent structure that’s an excuse not to clean up the river. It is very easy to have these little projects that greenwash government efforts to talk about environmental gains when actually they’re nothing of the kind.”

Business SA’s proposal would see a 50m concrete pool built, fed by a channel direct from the river, including multiple layers of treatment – both natural and mechanical. An SA Water feed would further enable the system to be 100 per cent manipulable and usable 365 days a year. 

Andrew McKenna, Business SA’s director of policy and advocacy, says other ideas, like a floating pool, have been suggested in the past “often from green-type parties” but none “from a business perspective”. 

“Fifty years ago, we were having swimming races in the Torrens,” Andrew says. “If we’re leading on other aspects of sustainability, why wouldn’t the Torrens form part of that?” 

He adds: “We’re not saying just dump a big concrete monolith on the Park Lands. It’s actually integrated into the manmade part of the lake too, which is a really important consideration. Basically, we should be enhancing what is already a manmade part of the lake.”

Andrew does concede that facilities like changerooms would need to be considered. “People go to the beach, and they don’t often have a changeroom really close by. There are public toilets just under the bridge, which maybe could be slightly expanded to make for a better changeroom. But all these things are quite secondary to the bigger picture of what we’re out to achieve.”

According to Business SA, the closest comparable facility is Launceston’s pool at Cataract Gorge. However, entrance there is free, parking aside. 

On the Torrens concept, Andrew says: “We expect there probably would [need to] be [a fee, but] it’d be nominal.” This, of course, would not be consistent with the standard that Your Park Lands should remain Open, Green, Public.

Andrew believes “two to three years” is a realistic timeframe for the pool to be built. Business SA is urging the State Government to provide construction funds and the City Council to operate the facility.

It sought technical advice for the proposal from Aquatic Biosecurity’s Dr Michael Sierp, Herriot Consulting’s John Taglienti, and Matthews Architects’ Gerald Matthews. 

Previously, Business SA chief Martin Haese was Adelaide’s Lord Mayor. He has stressed that the pool is not intended to replace North Adelaide’s fading Aquatic Centre.

Photos from the Torrens’ heyday as a swimming mecca feature in Patricia Sumerling’s book, The Adelaide Park Lands – A Social History.

Watch Business SA’s proposal video here.