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Official: Indiana park where kids burned has big problems

PORTER, Ind. (AP) – A northwestern Indiana water park where 11 children suffered chemical burns must correct numerous large problems before it can reopen, a local health official says.

An inspection Wednesday of Seven Peaks Water Park by town, county and state officials found “fairly extensive” problems including structural safety issues involving tall slides at the park, said Keith Letta, administrator of the Porter County Health Department.

“An engineer is going to have to look at that,” Letta told The (Northwest Indiana) Times.

The daylong inspection also turned up problems with an electronic system that monitors water quality with probes and then dispenses chemicals as needed, he said. The complaints of bathers being burned in the water are believed to have resulted from this automated system breaking down and employees trying to manually add the chemicals, he said.

The park had new electronic control boxes in places Wednesday, but they were not yet calibrated or functional, Letta said.

Letta closed the park June 19 after the 11 children suffered chemical burns from too much chlorine in the water, a 12th suffered an eye irritation and two others broke collarbones at the Porter, Indiana, attraction about 40 miles southeast of Chicago.

Wednesday’s inspection was conducted to provide the water park with a list of all that needs to be done before the attraction is allowed to reopen, Letta said.

Seven Peaks spokeswoman Jo Penney found good news in the findings.

“It is looking pretty good,” she said. “Things are very positive.”

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