Operation of Perth’s Elizabeth Quay water park will be handed to commercial operators.

The Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (MRA) has called for tenders from private firms to take over responsibility for the park.

The WA Health Department was forced to shut down the $13 million water park shortly after opened in 2016 after a potentially harmful bacteria was found in the water. 

After just one trouble-free summer of operation, the MRA has called for the tender to operate and maintain Elizabeth Quay as well as the programmable water and lighting feature at the base of the Bell Tower.

“The BHP Billiton Water Park design objective was to create a fun, colourful, interactive and programmable water and lighting feature that is a major visitor attraction,” the request states.

“The water feature has been designed to have wide appeal across the seasons and throughout the day and night. The primary target audience is children and families.

“Operating and managing water quality, and maintaining the Elizabeth Quay water features is a reasonably complex task which is to be carried out by qualified and trained staff under documented procedures.

“Procedures will be flexible to respond to varying environmental and seasonal weather conditions and in the case of the BHP Billiton Water Park the differing bather loads expected over the winter and summer periods, weekdays and weekends and school holiday or non-school holiday periods.

“In doing so the Contractor will need to establish the frequency of specific tasks and document changes for the management of the water features as the life of the equipment systems evolve,” it states.

The contractor will also have responsibility for control of water treatment and filtration systems, face periodic safety audits and made to “promptly notify” the MRA of any damage, breakage, deterioration in performance, “or other act, matter or thing which will or is likely to affect the safe and proper working of the water feature operations”.