I’ve got a new nickname for Councilor Tom Nickell.
From now on, we should all refer to him as Officer Cryptosporidium. If that word is too unwieldy, we can try Officer No Dirty Diapers.
“According to Nickell, constituents' questions about water quality prompted him to do some research on similar fountains, like one in San Jose, where the city was sued over children becoming sick after ingesting fountain water containing Cryptosporidium….Responding to reports that local kids have been getting sick from ingesting the water in the downtown plaza fountain, the city has already begun testing water daily, spending an extra $3,040 a month to ensure it is free of most bacteria.”
That's a lot of extra unanticipated money the City is spending.
Here is The Mercury News article on the reopening of San Jose’s Plaza de Cesar Chavez fountain.
The San Jose fountain was closed after people became sick from cryptosporidium. According to The Mercury News:
”Cryptosporidium enters water through fecal contamination and causes diarrhea and nausea. The Chavez plaza fountain was treated daily with chlorine, but cryptosporidium is resistant to the levels of that chemical that are safe for human contact.
It is not known if the City Plaza fountain was contaminated with cryptosporidium, but City officials are rightfully taking precautions.
Unfortunately, San Jose had to spend $600,000 to implement an advanced ultraviolet light filtration system to kill cryptosporidium and other chlorine-resistant bacteria.
In addition, San Jose now prohibits kids with diapers and bare feet in its public fountains, which effectively means anyone dressed as one of The Flintstones is not allowed.
In other words, be prepared for Officer Cryptosporidium to push for no diapers and bare feet in the City Plaza fountain. And if you’re wearing diapers without shoes while riding on a skateboard, you’ll likely be violating lots of rules.
Since I didn’t know much about cryptosporidium, I checked out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
The CDC recommends these steps to prevent cryptosporidiosis.
1. Practice good hygiene.
2. Avoid water that might be contaminated.
3. Do not rely on chemicals to disinfect water and kill Cryptosporidium.
4. Avoid food that might be contaminated.
5. Take extra care when traveling.
6. Avoid fecal exposure during sexual activity.
I don’t know what to say if you’re having trouble with #6.
In all seriousness, Officer Tom “Cryptosporidium” Nickell should be commended for ensuring the City takes steps to minimize liability related to the City Plaza fountain. Good work, Officer Cryptosporidium!
Kids Playing in Fountain Photo Credit: Carla Resnick, The Chico Beat
Today’s Scrabble word is nonage, a period of youth or immaturity.
Most public swimming pools have public showers.
First you jump in and rinse off your Cryptosporidium, which drains off to the sewer where it belongs. Then you go play and frolic in the recirclated chlorinated cocktail of chemicals and pee water. When you're through, you go back to the shower and rinse it all off again before you go your merry way.
Maybe this idea would work for our fountain too.
OK. I just flashed on this idea while getting heat stroke painting trees under the freeway bridge. The only expense will be the cost of a few plumbing valves and connectors.
We reconnect the supply line to the sprinklers, which comes right out of our nice clean groundwater, and run it through the fountain first. After it shoots through the sky and collects in the giant tank under the fountain, then it gets pumped into the sprinkler lines to water the Plaza and City Hall (after the chunks are screened out) instead of back through the fountain again and again....
The lawn and trees like nitrates. All the Cryptosporidium will eventually perk back down with all the doggy doo on the lawn back to recharge the tuscan aquifer from whence it came in the first place, naturally filtered through the soil on its way there.
This saves a lot of money by eliminating the need for all the extra chlorine and pool chemicals and we could drink the fountain water to our heart's content.
Am I a "Green Kinda' Guy" or what?