Public Health

The Council's Environmental Health Officers are a wealth of information about public health and safety issues and initiatives, and are responsible for investigating public health concerns.

Immunisation is an important process for the prevention of disease across our community. The Adelaide Hills Council conducts regular public immunisation clinics at both Stirling and Woodside.

Locations:

• STIRLING CLINIC: Stirling Coventry Library
  63 Mount Barker Road, Stirling
  First Thursday, of every month
  2 pm to 5 pm
  
• WOODSIDE CLINIC: Woodside Library
  26 Onkaparinga Valley Road, Woodside
  Third Thursday, of every month
  11:30 am to 2:30 pm

SA Health released information in relation to water systems and infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic for owners, operators and maintenance staff of heating/cooling water systems, manufactured water systems, drinking water systems, wastewater treatment plants, Community Wastewater management systems (CWMS), and public pools and spas.

Head lice are small, white-to-reddish-brown, wingless, blood sucking insects that live in human hair. People get head lice from direct hair to hair contact with another person who has head lice. Head lice do not have wings or jumping legs so they cannot fly or jump from head to head. They can only crawl.

For further information, please contact the Council's environmental health department or visit the SA Health website.

We all know that mosquitoes can be a nuisance, but some can also spread serious diseases when they bite. SA Health has some great resources for protecting yourself.

Legionella refers to a group of bacteria found in the environment. Legionnaires' Disease from water is usually caused by the species Legionella pneumophila which must be inhaled and typically infects the lungs and can cause severe pneumonia. Common sources of infection are cooling towers, hot and cold taps, showers and car washes.

High Risk Manufactured Water System

Cooling towers and warm water systems are high risk manufactured water systems and must be operated in accordance with the SA Public Health (Legionella) Regulations 2013, Australian and New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS 3666) and Guidelines for the Control of Legionella.

Owners of a high risk manufactured water system are required to register their system with the Council within one month of commissioning and registration must be renewed annually.

Noise pollution

The Environment Protection (Noise) Policy 2007 is administered by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), however the Adelaide Hills Council is responsible for monitoring and regulating nuisance noise pollution such as that from domestic premises, construction sites, and commercial premises. Noise is regulated under the Local Nuisance and Litter Control Act 2016. Download the guidelines below for information about permissible noise levels.

Air pollution

Air Pollution can be biological, chemical or physical, and includes wood smoke, dust and chemical trespass.

Wood smoke often results from wood burning heaters that are not well maintained or operated. Download the wood burning fact sheet to learn how you can best use your wood burning heater.

Water pollution

Water pollution can include storm water, creeks, rivers etc. The Environment Protection (Water Quality) Policy 2003 provides a means to protect waterways and reduce pollutants entering the waterways.

Council's Environmental Health Officers have a responsibility to inspect 'public' swimming pools, spa pools, and water slides to ensure compliance with legislation and protect the community.

Officers assess various aspects of a swimming pool operation as dictated by South Australian Public Health (General) Regulations, and the Standard for the Operation of Swimming Pools and Spa Pool.

For more information on these regulations, visit the SA Health website or contact Council's Environmental Health Unit.

Safe drinking water is essential for our survival. Maintaining a safer drinking water supply is therefore crucial to good health. The Safe Water Drinking Act 2011 aims to improve the protection of drinking water quality by providing direction to suppliers of our water.

Private water supplies

Private water supplies are not covered under the legislation and every household with a private supply, such as a rainwater tank or an on-site bore, should ensure the safety of their water.

Bore water safety

Bore water may be contaminated and unsafe to use. It should never be used for drinking, cooking, watering edible plants, or filling up swimming pools, unless it has been tested by a specialist laboratory.

Unlike many inner or metropolitan council areas, residents of the Adelaide Hills cannot assume that they are connected to an externally managed sewer system. Many factors contribute towards this, including low density living, the age of many dwellings and topography that is not supportive of sewer networks.

Council offers sharps disposal containers for sale. Two sizes are available:

• 1.4 litre container is $6
• 2.8 litre container is $10

Full containers can be returned to council at either Gumeracha, Stirling or Woodside for disposal. Please note that this service is available to private individual users only. Commercial quantities will not be accepted. Please ensure the container is sealed and we can only accept the authorised yellow medical sharps containers.

For information on food safety standards please head to the Food Safety Standards page.