The U.S. National Whitewater Center released the following statement after an Ohio teenager died from an Amebic infection after visiting the Whitewater Center. Β Read more details on the story HERE.
STATEMENT:
On June 21st, 2016, the U.S. National Whitewater Center was contacted by the Mecklenburg County HealthΒ Department and informed that an individual residing in Ohio had deceased from meningitis. The Center forΒ Disease Control contacted the Health Department because the deceased claimed to have visited the USNWC.
The meningitis was preliminarily diagnosed as Naegleria which results from a water born amoeba. The HealthΒ Department met with representatives from the USNWC on the afternoon of June 21st to gather informationΒ related to the operations of the whitewater system and water treatment. The following information wasΒ provided to the Health Department officials.
The US National Whitewater Center sources its water from the Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities DepartmentΒ and 2 wells located on the premises. The water contained in the whitewater channels is in a closed loopΒ system comprised entirely of concrete. The water is disinfected with ultraviolet radiation and filtered with aΒ disc filtration system. The UV system is a constant application and treats 12 million gallons of water every 24Β hours which is the total volume of the system. In addition to the UV treatment, the Center periodicallyΒ augments that treatment through the injection of chlorine into the system.
The levels of UV radiation disinfection utilized every day, continuously, at the Center are sufficient toΒ βinactivateβ the water born amoeba in question to an effective level of 99.99%. After contact from the CountyΒ Health Department, the USNWC released additional chlorine into the system in an abundance of caution. TheΒ levels of chlorine used in this additional chlorine based method equal the effectiveness levels of the UVΒ method and are equal to 3 times the levels used in swimming pools..
The US National Whitewater Center conducts water quality tests every week. Based on these tests and allΒ available information, at all times, the USNWC has been in compliance with all required water qualityΒ standards and meets the requirements of all regulatory standards and authorities. Furthermore, the USNWCΒ has requested additional testing specific to this issue in an abundance of caution. The USNWC is workingΒ closely with the Centers for Disease Control and the Mecklenburg County Health Department to investigateΒ the matter further.
