A “fecal incident” over the weekend, and a slowed water filtration rate, closed the Kona Community Aquatic Center Sunday, Parks and Recreation Director Bob Fitzgerald said Tuesday.
A “fecal incident” over the weekend, and a slowed water filtration rate, closed the Kona Community Aquatic Center Sunday, Parks and Recreation Director Bob Fitzgerald said Tuesday.
“The water was unsafe because of that,” he said.
The pool was to reopen at 6 a.m. today.
A sign announcing the closure was posted Sunday, noting the pool would not be available for use “indefinitely.” The possibility of a lengthy closure concerned West Hawaii swimmers, particularly with the Lavaman Waikoloa race scheduled for Sunday. Hundreds of athletes competing in the race use the pool, swim coach Steve Borowski said.
“There’s a ton of visitors that come and train with us,” Borowski said.
Fitzgerald said his staff replaced a fan that is part of the circulation system. The number of gallons moved per minute had dropped to 400 to 500, meaning it took about 24 hours to clean and filter the pool. Usually cleanup after a fecal incident takes much less time, he added. Staff closed the pool while the repair was made and the cleanup took place.