Personal Injury Law

Heritage Park Fountain Shutting Down Twice Daily, But Does Anyone Tell Swimmers Not To Poop In The Water?

In an editorial that went along way toward explaining to the public what's really going on at Olympia, Washington's Heritage Park Fountain, the Daily Olympian still fell too short of providing the public with a real education about the dangers of "swimming" in such facilities.

Here's the crux of what the Olympian said:

"No one ever thought that the fountain, made with green granite from New York, would accommodate up to 300 youngsters at a time.

And those youngsters bring an assortment of dirt, grime and other grit with them when they splash in the water.

City workers cannot use chlorine to disinfect the water because it would corrode the brass piping of the fountain. Instead they use bromine, which kills germs and bacteria just like chlorine, but does not harm the piping.

But the quality of water, which recirculates through an underground, 5,000-gallon tank, deteriorates quickly. The sun evaporates the bromine, which is also broken down by sunscreen and carried off on the bodies of the bathers. That's why the fountain must be shut down during the hottest part of the day to recharge bromine levels.

'Why not shut it down in the middle of the night?' ask critics.

Simple answer. In the middle of the night no one is using the fountain, the sun is not evaporating the bromine and the levels of disinfectant stay constant, actually building as the water recirculates."

Washington's Capitol City newspaper then goes into a lot of history of the 47 nozzle pools with jets shooting 40 into there air.  No where do they provide the information they should have told swimmers and parents of toddlers who do.  From the Centers on Disease Control and Prevention, we will fill in that huge gap:

 Three Steps for All Swimmers

Keep germs from causing recreational water illnesses (RWIs)

• Please don't swim when you have diarrhea. You can spread germs in the water and make other people sick.
• Please don't swallow the pool water. Avoid getting water in your mouth.
• Please practice good hygiene. Shower with soap before swimming and wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers. Germs on your body end up in the water.

 Three Steps for Parents of Young Kids

Keep germs out of the pool: 

• Please take your kids on bathroom breaks or check diapers often. Waiting to hear "I have to go" may mean that it's too late.
• Please change diapers in a bathroom or a diaper-changing area and not at poolside. Germs can spread in and around the pool.
• Please wash your child thoroughly (especially the rear end) with soap and water before they go swimming. Invisible amounts of fecal matter can end up in the pool.

Next time, Olympian, just tell people not to poop in the fountain nor let their toddlers do so!

Full post as published by Cryptosporidium Blog on June 13, 2009 (boomark / email).