Water World Contamination Threat: Theme Park Closes To Sanitize

FEDERAL HEIGHTS, CO – Sorry kids, Water World was closed Thursday, and your parents might get a little nauseated when they find out the reason why.

A possibly contaminated water supply, both for the food and beverages served at the aqua-themed park and the splashy rides themselves, was discovered this week by the Tri-County Health Department. Investigators traced the contamination to a power outage followed by a broken valve which was repaired in a way that "likely allowed water from an irrigation pond to flow into the domestic water supply," the health agency said.

Untreated water at the park on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday might have affected drinking fountains, ice and food at all concession stands and may also include water in some of the swimming pools, the agency said.

Visitors and employees may have been exposed to common pathogens sometimes found in untreated water – including norovirus, giardia, E. coli, cryptosporidium and hepatitis A, the health department said.

Health officials advised people who had visited the park Monday through Wednesday to look for symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea and fever, which can appear as soon as 12 hours after exposure, and as long as 45 days after exposure. Anyone who experiences those symptoms who visited the park between June 11-13 should see their doctor and contact the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment at 303-692-2700.

“The problem has been corrected, so any possible exposure was limited to those three days. We are notifying the public out of an abundance of caution so that guests can be aware of any symptoms from ingesting untreated water,” said John M. Douglas, executive director of Tri-County Health Dept.

The theme park, which bills itself as "America's Largest Water Park," said in a statement that the company daily tests and monitors the water in the swimming pools to make sure water quality "meets or exceeds standards for water safety." On Wednesday, the company closed food concession areas and shut off water fountains, offering free bottled water to patrons, they said.

Thursday, the company was flushing and sanitizing all water lines and "basically doing a sanitizing reset on the entire park," they said. "Safety of our guests has always has been our top priority."

There are no reported illnesses at this time, the health department said. There was no impact to the City of Federal Heights water distribution system, which is safe, a statement said.

Water World's Official Statement: June 14, 2018 12:30pm
We are hearing your understandable concerns about possible health effects (from a park visit June 11-June 13), the safety of our water, our decision to be open on Wednesday and to voluntarily close the park today.
Before opening on Wednesday, and in consultation with the health department, we felt, and still do, that there were no water quality or safety issues in regards to our attraction water. As it is every day, our attraction water is tested and monitored throughout the day and meets or exceeds standards for water safety. The health department also did random testing on Wednesday and confirmed our attraction water chemistry. There are no indications that there are any contaminates in our attraction water. However, shortly before opening on Wednesday, based on our discussions with the health department, we decided to go ahead and keep our food service locations closed for the day to allow for further evaluation. Out of caution, no domestic water was provided for drinking. We did offer a very limited menu and complimentary bottled water for all guests.
The reason we voluntarily decided to close the park Thursday is that we want to make absolutely sure that we have addressed any and every possible issue. We are extra chlorinating all the water in the park, flushing out all drinking fountains and concession equipment and basically doing a sanitizing reset on the entire park. Safety of our guests has always has been our top priority.
In our 39 years of providing water fun to the community, this is the first time we have ever had this type of issue at the park. We appreciate your confidence and thank those who have expressed as much to us.

Water World is scheduled to reopen Friday.

Image via Julija Ogrodowski/Shutterstock