Nearly a dozen
children who visited Seven Peaks Waterpark in Porter--after its unauthorized
opening on Thursday, June 15--have reportedly received medical treatment for
chlorine exposure.
Porter County
Health Department Administrator Keith Letta told the Chesterton Tribune
today that “11 children that we know of at this time” have been treated,
most of them for chemical burns but one for “breathing problems.” The
latter, he said, was a little girl to whom EMTs administered oxygen for 30
minutes, according to her parents.
Letta added that,
at this point, “that number probably won’t go much higher.”
Seven Peak was
closed on Monday--and remains closed today--following an inspection by
Health Department employees prompted by the first two complaints, forwarded
to Letta by the Porter Fire Department. The PFD, for its part, originally
learned of the injuries from Facebook postings.
Inspectors
determined on Monday that Seven Peaks employees were manually adding
chlorine to the water--and added too much of the highly caustic
chemical--because the facility’s automated disinfectant feeder had failed.
Inspectors found
other violations as well. Among them: Seven Peaks had failed to arrange a
pre-opening inspection as required by county ordinance; had failed to submit
a water sample; and wasn’t maintaining records of the pool chemistry.
As of this morning,
Letta said, the Health Department has had no contact with Seven Peaks. “Not
a word.” Letta told the Tribune on Tuesday that Seven Peaks will
remain closed until it’s demonstrated full compliance with code.
Just before
deadline today, a Seven Peaks representative spoke to the Tribune
about placing several apology advertisements in the paper.
According to the
Indiana Secretary of State’s Office, the principal office of Seven Peaks
Waterpark Porter is located in Provo, Utah.