MERIDIAN, Idaho — With the approval of House Bill 202, changes are coming to state level sanitation inspections for public pools. Idaho’s largest outdoor water park is working to keep their standards high ahead of summer.
Central District Health says the new law could put the public’s health at risk.
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As lifeguards test the water slides ahead of summer; Roaring Springs Waterpark operations are testing how clean their pool water is.
“So what’s the ideal PH?” asked Meridian Neighborhood Reporter Triepke.
“Between 7.2 and 7.8,” said Aaron Forsythe, Operation Manager, Roaring Springs Waterpark.
A behind the scenes look into just one of their pump houses, shows the several steps the park does to ensure guests can safely splash this summer.
“Roaring Springs will continue to maintain the high standard for water quality and pool safety that we always have. We manually test our water every two hours, we have chemical controllers that test the water 24/7, as well as UV light on 100% of our water,” said TIffany Watts, Roaring Springs.
Roaring Springs tells me they welcome the accountability that agencies like Central District Health provide for local pools, but come July 1, public pool water inspections will no longer be required.
“We are exploring a third party company to come and just double check all of our own inspection work at the beginning of the water park season,” said Watts.
Scott Heusser of Idaho Pool Remodel and Pool and Hot Tub Alliance tells me while he generally agrees with less government regulations, in this case he “finds it to be chaos.”
He’s also working with lawmakers to reinstate sanitation regulations when it comes to semi-public pools like in gyms or hotels, because disease outbreaks can be quote “caught with routine preventative inspection and normal care.”
As I reported, lawmakers in favor of the change say they believe cities and businesses that operate public operators can handle the proper maintenance and sanitation.
Central District Health tells Idaho News 6, they’ll continue to respond to any outbreaks.
The new law will take effect July 1, and Central District Health is expected to come and test the water as the summer season begins here at Roaring Springs. Opening day is May 10, weather permitting.
