Dirty Public Pool Determined as Cause of Outbreak

When the summer months arrive the hot weather has families rushing to their local public pool. One incident recorded by the CDC shows how contaminated water and a lack of oversight may spoil the enjoyment.

Last summer, a public pool in Pennsylvania experienced an incident where over a dozen children became gravely ill from two forms of bacteria, E. Coli and C. Difficile. An investigation showed that children who had swam in the pool and had ingested water were affected roughly 48 hours after exposure. Experts say that normally bacteria like E. coli and C. difficile. find their way into bodies of water from swimmers who experience diarrhea, although there are studies that have shown that bacteria can enter a water source and proliferate in many other ways.

There were 15 cases (9 confirmed, 6 probable) in people aged 4–14 years; 10 patients were male.

All of the individuals reported swimming at the pool on May 31, 2021, the seasonal opening date, and had no additional common exposures.

The day of the incident, the total number of pool guests was unknown. Symptoms began appearing within a few hours to as long as several days. In total, 13 patients wound up seeking medical attention, and 6 were admitted to the hospital. C. difficile antibiotics were administered to 4 people. Luckily, in this particular instance, there were no cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome, a rare but serious illness that affects the kidneys and prevents blood clotting in those who’ve been infected.

Notes from the investigation were published on May 20 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The investigation determined that the swimming pool’s automatic chlorinator was broken and that record-keeping was not in accordance with local regulations. Consequently, what limited data that was available revealed at least one case where there was no detectable chlorine.

We reached out to experts in the industry who clean and service public swimming pools to get their perspective on what went wrong in the process.

“Equipment malfunctions are inevitable,” said pool service technician Cole Daasnes, “a system of redundant precautions would definitely reduce the likelihood of someone being harmed by it. If we managed that public pool, we’d have a digital pool monitor in place. Someone should be doing weekly equipment checks on the feeders, pumps, and filtration pressure as well as checking it with a test strip when they open the pool for the day. Those results should be recorded in a logbook.”

Stephen Little, CEO and owner of Claro Pool, said, “This is just a cascade of failures. Lack of redundancies and a protocol to establish layers of safety are clearly missing here,” said Little. “If I was the manager of this pool, I would put a flowchart together to see exactly where the failure occurred.”

“Public pools should be using an NSF 50 rated peristaltic pump that automates chlorine levels. Rola-chem makes a great one, as does Stenner. Point is there are plenty of companies who make chemical feeders that prevent this exact type of problem from occurring,” said Little.

“It’s a failure to care,” said CPO Instructor Rudy Stankowitz, “If the facility was managed properly the condition would not have gone unnoticed/ uncorrected for more than a couple of hours.”

“I’m a firm believer in using alternative sanitizers,” said Gregg Sample of Chlorine Solutions, “Public pools really need boric acid restrictions lifted. It’s basically adding insurance for the water. I have found through testing my own pool that Boric Acid and a PoolRx are a redundant measure of sanitization.”

E. Coli and other pathogens such as Naegleria fowleri, Giardia, Shigella, Norovirus can cause serious illness. This one instance is a perfect example of how the public can be protected from RWI’s by establishing and following proper pool maintenance protocols.