Splash pads and public health

by Sally Bouorm | August 1, 2010 2:51 pm

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By Ralph F. Stanley, B.Sc. (EH), CIPHI,^© OHS^©

A new phenomenon has emerged across North America; splash pads and spray parks. These are the latest form of interactive, wet recreation (body contact recreation). Over the last several years in Canada and the United States, the industry has witnessed an explosion in the number of water-based splash pads constructed using newer forms of wet play equipment geared towards children, toddlers and adults.

Historically, public health agencies apply regulations and guidance documents geared to the protection of health and safety[2] in public pool and wading pool applications.

In the public health field, children, toddlers and immunocompromised individuals[3] are considered a high-risk segment of the population and thus more susceptible to the transmission and/or outbreak of waterborne disease.

In fact, the behaviour of children at play, combined with the way they use splash pads, spray fountains, water slides/rides and other wet play apparatus can directly subject them to exposure—sometimes unknowingly—through many entry points within the body (e.g. ingestion [mouth], ears, nose, eyes, dermal [skin], etc.). Health impacts include contracting a disease from pathogenic micro-organisms, such as E. coli and Cryptosporidium (Crypto). These risks can also include bacterial or viral infections of the ears, eyes, nose, throat, skin and urinary tract.

Last year, Canada and the United States experienced an increase in waterborne Crypto outbreaks associated with the use of splash pads, while outbreaks of other pathogens, such as E. coli[4], have also been linked to spray parks.

With the potential to expose children to waterborne diseases, the recreational and public health communities have an obligation to protect against health risks at these aquatic play environments.

Water quality is vital

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To minimize waterborne disease transmission and illness risks, as well as ensure the ongoing protection of public health and safety, water quality is of utmost importance. It is highly probable for water from various wet play equipment to end up in a child’s mouth; therefore, water quality must meet drinking water standards. The number of worldwide outbreaks in recent years at various splash pads and water parks further reinforces this statement. For example, due to a Crypto outbreak in 2005 at a Lake Seneca Park splash pad in New York, nearly 2,500 people are involved in a class action lawsuit[6].

In 2009, as a result of the public health hazards identified, the Ontario Public Health Association[7] (OPHA) passed a resolution calling on government to provide guidance and develop regulations to protect public health in this regard. Under section 7 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA), the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) has the authority to publish guidelines for the provision of mandatory health programs and services by boards of health.

With that said, in April the MOHLTC released a new guidance document titled, Operating Procedures for Non-Regulated Recreational Water Facilities Guidance Document[8] (2010),  which will be used by all 36 public health units in Ontario under the new Ontario Public Health Standards[9] (OPHS) Safe Water Program, Recreational Water Protocol. These standards were developed to replace the existing Mandatory Health Programs and Services Guidelines (1997). This document will be used to provide guidance to local boards of health and assist public health inspectors in conducting risk assessments and inspections related to non-regulated recreational water. It will also prove to be a useful resource for public and private recreational water facility operators.

Risks associated with recirculating splash pad design

From a water feature design perspective, major concerns have been associated with splash pads that are operated with recycled water and/or with holding tanks, as standard pool filtration and chlorination are not effective against Crypto[10]. Chlorine is ineffective in the inactivation of this parasitic disease, with kill times ranging from more than a week at 100 parts per million (ppm).

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Some microbiological organisms (e.g. parasites) can bioaccumulate in holding tanks and be difficult to remove and kill off in some spray park designs, such as recirculating splash pads. These facilities present a more significant health risk, as water is recirculated and recycled rather than using a continuous flow of treated potable drinking water, whereby used water is discharged directly to waste.

Additional risks are presented when toddlers, who are not toilet trained, bathe in training pants and/or diapers, as this can lead to fecal accidents. Children and toddlers often carry a number of micro-organisms picked up throughout their daily routine, from person-to-person contact (e.g. family members and playmates) and their surroundings (e.g. institutions, schools and daycare facilities). These micro-organisms can include bacteria like E. coli and pathogenic parasites, such as Crypto and Giardia[12] (cyst and oocyst), which can be very persistent in recreational waters and have a low effective dose rate.

In the occurrence of a human fecal accident at a splash pad, used water is collected and discharged by gravity directly into the deck floor drains around the splash pad. If the system is designed using a reservoir, these liquids are then concentrated in a holding tank along with other suspended dirt, debris, organic materials and other fecal matter from domestic pets and wildlife.

Reducing micro-organisms through filtration

While chlorine is not effective against Crypto in both public pools and splash pads, the latter are more prone to these outbreaks. This is likely because filtration systems at public pools normally operate 24-7, which results in a larger turnover rate; undesirable micro-organisms are continuously filtered out. Public pools also have a much larger water volume, and are by law required to add a certain amount of fresh water—depending on the daily bather load—and subsequently send the equivalent amount of ‘old’ water to waste. This process decreases the micro-organism count per volume of water. (Based on the simple toxicological thinking, “Dilution is part of the solution.”) On the other hand, the relatively smaller water volume contained in a recirculating splash pad facility’s holding tank, which may not be continually filtered 24 hours a day, allows micro-organisms to bioaccumulate, thus increasing the micro-organism count per volume of water and bather risk.

Cryptosporidiosis occurs due to exposure from contaminated water and food. When dealing with parasite transmission risks, multi-barrier removal and inactivation techniques should be in place to protect bathers from contracting such diseases. This includes the use of a high-rate filtration system, such as micro-filtration, slow sand and/or ultra filtration (to remove Crypto, a filtration pore size less than one micron is desirable). Inactivation and suitable disinfection techniques, which deal with pathogenic micro-organisms and parasites, are required. One popular example is the use of an ultraviolet treatment (UVT) device. UVT devices use specifically targeted UV radiation to inactivate microbial contaminants such as chlorine-resistant parasites. If using such a device, it should also be equipped with self-cleaning capabilities and a built-in, fail-safe device, such as a sensor/alarm for turbidity and UV light transmittance monitoring.

Reducing operating costs and minimizing liability

Operators are turning to other forms of wet body contact recreation, such as splash pads, as a way to reduce operating and overhead costs (e.g. lifeguards, heating and electricity) while also reducing liability by creating an environment with minimal water-related accidents.

Many local public health jurisdictions are now seeing new design opportunities, replacing older wading pools and bathing beaches with newer forms of wet play apparatus and splash pad facilities. In fact, many municipalities and conservation authorities have taken advantage of the federal and provincial government’s Infrastructure Renewal and Economic Stimulus Funding program opting to revamp many of their aged and existing recreational facilities and/or build new wet play recreational equipment facilities.

With this comes the pressure to provide so-called ‘green’ alternatives, which reduce energy and water use. One of these options involves recirculating splash pad water to promote an environmentally friendly operating environment; however, public health should not be sacrificed to do so.

If the operator opts for an engineered design to recirculate water, additional public health risks would not be the only downside. Up front and ongoing costs would also escalate as a multi-barrier treatment and additional operator training would have to be provided. This approach also requires a more complicated engineering design and trained operators to deal with appropriate inactivation and pathogen kill (e.g. three- to four-log reduction of Crypto) to protect bathers from disease transmission and illness.

Using a logarithmic scale with a base of 10 and log-reduction terminology, the levels of decreased biological contamination in water can be expressed. For example, a one-log reduction represents nine out of 10 (90 per cent), a three-log reduction represents 999 out of 1,000 (99.9 per cent) and a four-log reduction would be equivalent to 99.99 per cent.

One way to satisfy the MOHLTC’s recommended design guidelines, while also remaining eco-conscious, is to provide an irrigation system that would collect spent water from the splash pad and use it to water nearby green space, rather than sending it to waste. The MOHLTC’s guidance document is a good start in the journey towards establishing regulations, which need to be developed to protect public health in today’s modern water parks. Operators will need to be vigilant and develop rules and safety procedures[13] to help minimize risks to users.

 

Ralph F. Stanley is certified public health inspector (CPHI) and supervisor, environmental health with the Ontario Region of Peel. He has expertise in all public health areas, specifically aspects of water, and leads the region’s safe water programs. Stanley currently serves as a trustee with the Environmental Health Foundation of Canada (EHFC), is member of the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (CIPHI) and a lifetime member of the Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA).

 

Source URL: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/splash-pads-and-public-health/

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