Splash pad ID’d as source of boy’s deadly amoeba

LAKE JACKSON — A splash pad outside this city's civic center has been identified by federal health officials as the sole source of a brain-eating amoeba that killed a 6-year-old boy last month and tainted the city's water supply.

The findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were released during a Friday afternoon news conference here.

City Manager Modesto Mundo said the CDC's analysis confirmed that the splash pad storage tank “created the environment” for the microscopic amoeba, known as naegleria fowleri, to grow. The CDC also confirmed that an analysis of the genotype matched the amoeba that killed Josiah McIntyre on Sept. 8.

“The city accepts these results and the responsibility they bring with them,” Mundo said. “We never want this event to happen again in Lake Jackson or to any family. Therefore, the splash pad is closed and will not reopen or be converted into anything else until after discussion with the family and our City Council.”

Mundo noted that the storage tank had low residual chlorine levels, which could have led to algae and other microbes like the amoeba to grow. The city added a timer system to the splash pad storage system in 2016 and said it was possible that less potable water was moving through the tank over time.

The Lake Jackson Department of Health is responsible for inspecting the splash pad, but Mundo declined to say when the last inspection was, nor if previous inspections showed any red flags about the storage tank.

“We were putting chlorine in (the storage tank) as well, but we weren't keeping records of it,” Mundo said. “That's something we'll find out in this investigation; it may not be one thing, may be several things.”

In the meantime, a boil water notice for Lake Jackson residents has been lifted and Mundo insisted that the city's water supply is safe to drink and use, though usage will be restricted in order to not overwhelm water wells.

The city must also complete a 60-day chlorine treatment process, with daily chlorine measurements being sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The TCEQ may also do its own weekly observations of the city's water system. That process is expected to be completed Dec. 4, though Mundo added that the city would probably need an additional two to four weeks to transition back to a normal water distribution process.

Mayor Bob Sipple said he hoped that in time, the city government would regain the trust of its residents.

“Lake Jackson will be a leader in exemplary municipal water distribution,” Sipple said. “Until then, I ask the public to be patient.”