Buildings and cars weren't all that was affected by a severe dust storm which blanketed the Dubbo region between Sunday night and Monday morning.
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The big pool at Dubbo's Aquatic Leisure Centre was off-limits to the public for a few hours because the dust in the storm was so thick it settled on the pool floor overnight.
"We've got a pool vacuum that goes in every night and runs on a cycle," centre manager Beth Shea told the Daily Liberal on Monday.
"With a storm like this it actually stops when the bags get full and we usually find of a morning when we come in the bags look like they've been dragged through mud on days like this," she said.
"Usually of a night it will clean the whole pool, it'll do a six-hour-cycle. A lot of the storm probably came in after the vacuum had finished. It's a bit like your vacuum at home, it stops when the bag is full."
Ms Shea said the amount of dust the storm left in the pool was "the worst" she had seen "by a long shot".
"We've had traces of dust in the pool at various times when we've had dust storms before but usually after two or three days, it [the cleaning cycle] will catch it all up.
"Because the dust particles are big they sink to the bottom, if they were lighter they'd go into the drains and through are filtration. Now the only way to get them off is with the vacuum.
"While it's visually pretty horrific, it's actually clean. We still do all our water tests, we make sure the water meets all of our NSW Health regulations."
To "have a crack at getting most of the dust out" and for safety reasons, Ms Shea said the pool had to be closed for a short time.
"The vacuums run with electricity, so we can't have people in the water while we're running the vacuum for obvious reasons.
"When lots of people are swimming in it, that stirs the dust up as well and it makes the water a little bit muddier.
"Obviously the wind combined with the water looking a little bit murky makes it difficult for a lifeguard. We have to be able to see people."
Ms Shea said when the pool vacuum bags were emptied, they got poured on the garden.
"We return a bit of the top soil," she said.
