Fiona Robinson has been one of the warriors in the fight to keep open the Big Splash water park in Macquarie.

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"Along with my daughter, Big Splash is one of my big loves," she said.

And she knows what she's talking about.

Fiona worked at Big Splash, on and off, for 20 years, including as duty manager.

She's a no-nonsense, plain-talking, passionate advocate for the water park.

She's not above going to the now-derelict water park and yelling at trespassers to get out and then calling the police.

She's trying her best to save the water park from further destruction. Someone has to.

Fiona's biggest cringe is reading comments from armchair experts suggesting Big Splash can't make money or that its slides are doomed. She doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.

For the record, Fiona says when she was working there, Big Splash was "very profitable".

"[Former owners] the Watkins were very smart business people and Mrs Watkins was the hardest worker I have ever seen," she said.

Fiona doubts the eight slides and four plant rooms have all spontaneously reached their use-by date. They all need to be checked by an engineer. She believes they are salvageable.

The most sensible option, she believes, would be for someone with experience running public pools, like the Sarri family, to take on Big Splash.

That means........

© Canberra Times