The new splash pad at Traverse City’s Clinch Park is the center of an investigation after about a dozen people have complained of gastrointestinal illnesses after visiting the attraction. The splash pad has been closed after the event that occurred on 6/30/13 between 10:00 to 10:15 am. The park may be closed for several weeks.
Public health officials are warning parents of children who played in the waterscape at that time to watch for signs of illness. They are also warning anyone who visited the park on Saturday, June 29, 2013 to watch for signs of illness. Those symptoms may include gastrointestinal problems, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, visible signs of infection in an open wound or rash, and jaundice (yellowing of the eyes or skin).
Any illnesses should start over the next two weeks. If you or your children have been exposed to the water at Clinch Park on 6/29/13 or 6/30/13 and you have questions, call the Public Health Nurse at 231-995-6132.
According to several media reports, the splash park opened without state and local permits, and the operators did not have a license to operate it. On the morning of June 30, officials found that a sewer pump station failed and sewage backed up and got into the reservoir that feeds the park’s fountains. In addition, the pump failure alarm didn’t work because a circuit breaker at the pump station was tripped.
