To report this to the council? Hazardous public splash park

[Kimono88]

Yesterday my DP took our DC to a splash area / play sprinklers in a public park. Apparently it was lovely when he was a child but the pictures and video he sent me tell a different story now. Despite being operational it has been massively neglected by the council to the extent it is a health hazard.

There is moss and filth all over the area where the kids play, huge chunks of the rubber flooring had been broken off leaving big holes for the children to trip over and now my DC has come down with an awful stomach which I'm sure isn't a coincidence because of course being little he decided to drink the water as it was being jetted out of the disgusting ground... 😳

DP thought it was fine as there were lots of other kids playing there. I said I wouldn't be surprised if the kids get sick and here we are.

WIBU to make a complaint to the council? It needs to be shut down for maintenance or closed off completely if they don't have the budget/inclination to make it safe.

Came here to say this!

Our council had a specific web page where you report issues with plays sites, 2 men turn up and attempt something and then go away and come back with 4 men and fix it. Well one does while the other watches.

You can complain but it seems some people still need to wake up to the scale of funding cuts the Tories have inflicted - this is the result.

The idea the offices will be 'lovely' is pretty laughable. Councils haven't got any money for anything now. If you vote Tory be pleased they've done what you wanted - break everything.

If you feel it needs council intervention then that’s all that matters.
You might be pointing out something that’s been overlooked & others who use the facility take it for granted that “someone” will do something about it but “nobody” ever does.
Do what you think is right. It only takes a second to send an email.

Thank you @Kimono88 - he was one of a kind!

Fingers crossed the council will do something about the splash pool if enough people complain.

If there is an issue the council should deal with, yes bring it to their attention. Where I live they would just turn off the water and leave it son no one could ever use it.

They should have records of inspection, water testing and cleaning, so first step would be to ask the council to let you see the records. The ones my friend inspects would be checked and cleaned prior to opening in April/May. It doesn't look as if it has been cleaned for a year or two which is not in line with the manufacturer's recommendations. However usually the water would come from a pumphouse with a filtration and cleaning system in it, so it's unlikely loads of kids will get sick from it, although if it hasn't been checked it may not be working properly.

Lol! Last time I put a collar on the kids they scratched me too!!!

@Kite22 you bet wrong! But what's up with this them vs us assumption anyway? Where do you think council staff live?

Lol! Last time I put a collar on the kids they scratched me too!!!

😂

I doubt Byrne would get ill, I'd be more worried about them skipping and hurting themselves. I'd definitely complain the council should have done safety checks svd maintenence before being turned on for the season.

YANBU I'd like to live in a country where children don't get dysentery from splash play. It's sad how low the bar is now.

I once witnessed a woman washing dog shit off her shoes in one and it's put me off using them again

Yes, report it. The one near me is emptied twice a week, tested once a day and checked twice a day. Any sign of dirt/contaminants or glass and it is emptied again (takes five hours to empty, refill and redistribute chemicals/checks). It is also repainted every winter. It is an amazing facility for local people and yes I do know what is required - essentially this is it!

I can assure you that council offices are far from luxurious.

Wondering if Jeanne had been on the 🥂last night as she’s on lots of threads with odd comments.

If you think the stomach issue is related you should definitely report it so it can be checked.

Don’t complain! They will just close it. That’s what has happened with loads of our park equipment. If you don’t want to use it, don’t. But don’t assume the council will just shell out the £1000s needed to sort it out.

For anyone dismissing this health and safety issue and claiming over reaction etc, I believe the OP is right to be concerned.

there can be a significant risk to public health if these facilities aren’t kept clean.
we had an issue at our local park and some children were quite unwell
I know it was a while ago (from photo attached) but the risks are still there for any similar feature that has a dirty environment or is not kept clean. Ours was shut for ages as the council had to sort it.

And further to my note above there was other information confirming that the initial system wasn’t set up correctly to enable safe and regular checks.
the risk of young children ingesting water infected with all kinds of disease is high if cleaning schedules aren’t adhered to.
most of us wouldn’t enter a public pool that wasn’t checked and cleaned regularly.

Grim, they’re a known health hazard, can’t believe councils are still allowed to operate them. I thought there’d been lots of stomach problems associated with them. I think a massacre outbreak of Cryptosporidium in Hull was attributed to one there.

Cryptosporidium thrives in dirty water btw. And is bloody awful, had it whilst travelling last for weeks too.

@WisteriaHysteria22
completely agree with you it’s horrible and lasts far longer than a ‘normal bug’

Center Parcs had an outbreak some years ago and was slated for it.

with these splash areas there are babies and toddlers crawling around in then putting hands in their mouths etc. Lots of pregnant mothers potentially around. A big like cryptosporidium could be very serious for any of them of course.

if there is a visible problem noted by members of the public such as op, then who knows what other hidden problems there are!

I would hate to be the reason a child without a garden can't access something fun because I know how crap it is when you don't have one. We don't have one either.

But like PP said, you wouldn't expect a child to visit a swimming pool that is never cleaned.

The sprinklers themselves need to be repaired too as when my DP was a child you could turn them on and off by stepping on these coloured circles. They don't work anymore. The jets turn on and off at random.

I've seen it all before with a public paddling pool where we lived before, it was condemned and shut down for a year due to health risks as a load of children were come down ill after playing there. The council sold it on in the end and the new owner has completely refurbished it. It brings in thousands now.

I sent a complaint then realised I'd sent it to the wrong council so I'll redo it in a minute.

Given the potential health issue you probably should flag it up with the council, but be aware that there will almost certainly be no spare money to fix it and they are likely to just close it down. With the drought situation all this stuff will probably be switched off soon anyway.

Our local one hasn’t even been turned on this year as first the council couldn’t get hold a of part they needed from Europe, and then they decided they couldn’t afford to run/maintain it anyway. All fountains etc now also switched off because of the drought. Lots of local families have been emailing/tweeting to complain as their DC have been desperate to use them during the recent heatwaves (London, so many people round here live in flats without gardens).