Unclean pools prove hazardous
By ELIZABETH NEFF and CAREY HAMILTON
Salt Lake Tribune
In triple-digit temperatures, there are few things more appealing than a dip in a crystal-clear pool.
Focused on cooling down and keeping the kids occupied for a few hours, many don't think twice about skipping the showers and just jumping in. But federal health officials say they should -- the spread of recreational water illnesses is on the rise nationally.
Most recreational water illnesses enter water through fecal matter, and spread through contact or swallowing contaminated water.
Exposure to the five most common bugs -- cryptosporidium, E-coli, giardia, shigella and Hepatitis A -- usually results in diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But it can also mean skin rashes and ear or respiratory infections.
The CDC says reports from 1984 to 2002 indicate an increase in reported diarrheal outbreaks, resulting in about 19,000 water-related illnesses over that time period. Officials attribute the rise to increased recreational water usage and improved detection.
On a blisteringly hot day earlier this month, Juneal Wilding of the Salt Lake City area joined other mothers and children leaving a public swimming pool en masse after the pool was closed in an all-too-commonplace occurrence.
"Someone had an accident, and they told us it would take an hour to clean up," said Wilding. "It's disgusting."
The ill-fated outing was the first time Wilding and her twin boys visited the recreation center pool. But they had joined a relatively length list of people sharing the same fate.
Tod Bean, recreation facilities director, said most violations resulted from the kids' wading pool
"We've really stepped things up there," he said. "We shock it twice a week, drain it once a month and test the water every two hours."
Wilding, however, said she hadn't thought much about pool water standards before that day. "I'll probably ask about violations in the future," she said.
Shallow baby pools and hot whirlpools, sources of warm temperatures and small spaces, create a perfect environment for germs to multiply.
That means more problems at hotels, apartments, condos and gyms, which don't have staff check the water as frequently.
