No risk at Splash & Fun despite shortcomings - inquiry board

A board of inquiry appointed after water contamination was reported at Splash and Fun Waterpark, highlighted there were a number of areas with vast room for improvement, but ruled that the public was not exposed to any risks.

Between July and August, five complaints were filed of persons becoming sick after visiting the waterpark, allegedly suffering from skin diseases.

Although the Board did not identify any public official as being negligent, it criticized the department of public health for not carrying out any follow ups to the complaints.

The report and handling of the contamination identified on 12th July were deemed to have been handled well by the department, but the Board identified no repeat sampling was immediately carried out at the time, and samples were only taken 12 days later.

It was said how department officials only took the case up again when the second complaint was received. The department is then criticized for an excessive delay in dealing with this complaint.

“Complaints should be tackled more rapidly and vigilance of such complexes should be increased during the summer months,” the board recommended. 

The Board agreed with newspaper Illum’s report that the current practice of taking samples in the morning should be extended such that samples are also taken throughout the day.

Two weeks ago, Illum reported that samples were only taken in the morning, and not at peak times, only because officials were on half-days.

The Board was also of the opinion that since the legislation does not stipulate what is to be done when there is contamination, written guidelines should be established on action to be taken in these instances.

It also recommended that before any decision on what action is to be taken, the Director responsible for disease prevention and the Superintendent of Public Health were to be informed.

The report has been passed on to the relevant department for the implementation of the Board’s recommendations.