A woman claimed last week that a child became sick after swimming in the pond at Wadsworth Park.
The woman posted on Facebook that the child became sick from E.Coli and Cryptosoridium in the water. She cautioned people to be careful if they go swimming at Wadsworth, and urged people to see a healthcare provider if you or a loved one feels sick afterwards.
We contacted the Cascade City-County Health Department, who was unable to verify the report. Officials did note that unlike city-owned pools, the water at Wadsworth is not inspected, nor is it treated.
The CCHD inspects licensed public swimming pools (such as the Electric City Water Park) in Cascade County annually for safety and sanitation compliance with state regulations. They noted that "if not designed or maintained properly, pools can transmit communicable diseases such as cryptosporidium and norovirus, or they can cause serious injury or death."
The CCHD provides the following information to help ensure safety:
- Don’t swallow the water you swim in
- Don’t swim if you have, or have recently had, diarrhea
- Shower before swimming
- Take bathroom breaks every 60 minutes
- Take children on bathroom breaks every 60 minutes or check diapers every 30-60 minutes
- Change diapers in the bathroom or diaper-changing area, not poolside
- Wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers
You may also decide to test pool water yourself with test strips. Click here to learn about ordering and receiving free test strips.
The federal Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has a section on its website for what it calls Recreational Water Illnesses:
Recreational water illnesses (RWIs) are caused by germs spread by swallowing, breathing in mists or aerosols of, or having contact with contaminated water in swimming pools, hot tubs, water parks, water play areas, interactive fountains, lakes, rivers, or oceans. RWIs can also be caused by chemicals in the water or chemicals that evaporate from the water and cause indoor air quality problems. RWIs can be a wide variety of infections, including gastrointestinal, skin, ear, respiratory, eye, neurologic and wound infections. The most commonly reported RWI is diarrhea. Diarrheal illnesses can be caused by germs such as Crypto (short for Cryptosporidium), Giardia, Shigella, norovirus, and E. coliO157:H7.
The CDC also notes:
Swallowing water that has been contaminated with feces containing germs can cause diarrheal illness. Swimmers share the water—and the germs in it—with every person who enters the pool. On average, people have about 0.14 grams of feces on their bottoms which, when rinsed off, can contaminate recreational water. In addition, when someone is ill with diarrhea, their stool can contain millions of germs. This means that just one person with diarrhea can easily contaminate the water in a large pool or water park. Swallowing even a small amount of recreational water that has been contaminated with feces containing germs can make you sick. Remember, chlorine does not kill germs instantly, and some germs, such as Cryptosporidium (or “Crypto”), are extremely chlorine tolerant. In addition, lakes, rivers, and the ocean can be contaminated with germs from sewage spills, animal waste, and water runoff following rainfall.
The CDC says that it is important to avoid swallowing the water because natural recreational water is not disinfected.
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