Almost worse than sharks

The swimming pool scene from the movie “Caddyshack” ranks as one of the most hilarious moments in potty humor history, but there’s nothing funny about the germs that can spread when children have accidents in public pools.

This summer, Spokane-area pools have closed 14 times due to contamination from vomit or feces in the water. Each time this happens, jurisdictions can lose up to $500 in the form of missed revenues and chlorine and labor costs, said Spokane County Parks and Recreation Director Doug Chase. The financial blow is lower in the city of Spokane because it doesn’t charge children admission to its pools.

“The most unfortunate thing is the lost opportunity for the kids and the patrons,” Chase said.

When a pool is shut down for the day, patrons who can drive to other aquatic facilities fill those pools until they quickly reach capacity. Children without that option are simply turned away with a voucher good for another day.

“Most of our patrons are kids unattended by adults,” said Sarah Ranson, Spokane’s aquatics director. “They don’t really have the luxury of being able to travel to another pool.”

The number of so-called recreational water illnesses has grown during the last decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports on its Web site. In 1998, more than 25 children contracted E. coli at a Georgia water park because of contamination. For two victims in that incident, swallowing a little pool water turned deadly.

Nothing that tragic has occurred here, but aquatic employees must stay vigilant. When feces or vomit is discovered, they act quickly, clearing people out of the pool, removing the mess and starting the super-chlorination process.

Many factors determine how long the pools must close, but most often the facility is shuttered until the next day.The public pools take so long to clean partly because their filter systems are old, Ranson said. Most public pools were built at least 20 or 30 years ago and they use what’s called a diatomaceous-earth filter, she said. It takes six to eight hours to completely refresh the water.

“To feel confident you got it all, you might have to go through the filter two or three times,” Ranson said.

The CDC warns that not all swimming pool accidents are created equal. If someone has diarrhea in a pool, for example, germs can spread farther and more rapidly than if the feces is solid.

Water illnesses occur when swimmers swallow, breath or make other contact with contaminated water. Symptoms include skin, ear, respiratory, eye and wound infections and diarrhea, the CDC says. Children, pregnant women and people with weak immune systems are most susceptible.

“It is a big deal if (a mess) happens in a pool,” said Spokane Valley Parks and Recreation Director Mike Jackson. “Most of the time it’s entirely accidental, but the more we can prevent that, the less we have to close the pool.”

Recreation officials agreed that pool accidents can’t be avoided entirely. Sometimes children unexpectedly swallow a bunch of water and throw it back up.

Occasionally, though, vandals and pranksters get involved. Once, a garbage can of glass was dumped in a county pool, forcing its closure. And, yes, every so often a patron plops a Baby Ruth candy bar in the water, mimicking the famous “Caddyshack” scene.

But parents can play a key role in keeping pools clean, Ranson said. They could require children to take bathroom breaks every 45 minutes and to wash their hands. If children aren’t feeling well, they shouldn’t be allowed to swim. And babies must wear plastic diaper covers, she said. If more patrons did that, pool closures could be less common, recreation officials said.

Until then, when the theme music from “Jaws” begins to play, it’s best to get out of the water.