Hay at the forefront of evolutionary pool safety

Written By Tertia Butcher

By Tertia Butcher

Hay Shire Council has embraced evolutionary AI (Artificial Intelligence) to take the new John Houston Memorial Pool to the next level of drowning prevention with advanced pool safety.

The new pool will include the Lynxight system which uses cloud-based AI software to analyse swimmer behaviour via standard CCTV cameras, providing real-time insights above and below the water. 

General Manager, David Webb said these insights are delivered directly to lifeguards' smartwatches to enhance their ability to monitor and respond to potential incidents.

“This powerful AI tool provides real-time alerts to prevent incidents before they unfold,” he said.

Mr Webb was speaking at the final pointscore session last week before the pool closed on Saturday.

It was a bitter-sweet moment for the young swimmers; sad that Tuesday, February 25 was their very last swim in the old pool, but with much excitement for the new development.

“This will be the only pool in New South Wales to have these cameras which have a full 360-degree view of the pools,” Mr Webb explained.

“The cameras identify and analyse the behaviour of every swimmer in the pool and detect when there is no movement from one of them. This is when the alert goes out to the lifeguard’s waterproof smartwatch.

“Your new pool will be a state-of-the-art facility with even a half basketball court.”

The replacement project includes three new pools, filtration equipment, solar heating, renewable energy supply, recreational facilities including a barbecue, and landscaping.

The project is a fully scoped and planned replacement of the three swimming pools that will deliver a regional aquatic precinct.

Work on demolishing the old pools start this week, with the new complex due to open towards the end of the year.

Tertia Butcher

Tertia is South-African born where she worked as magazine journalist before moving to Australia on Winter Solstice 1980.

She began her newspaper career with the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin in February 1981. Initially she was employed in sales, while waiting for a position on the editorial team.

After two years in sales, while also writing the social column, Tertia was offered a cadetship with the McPherson Group.

She completed the cadetship in 1985, followed by the Country Newspaper Journalism course with Deakin University.

In 1991 Tertia moved to Hay and began her career with The Riverine Grazier. She was appointed editor in 1995 and became a partner in the business in 2000.

https://www.thegrazier.com.au/
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