Water Treatment Questions Linger After Brain-Eating Amoeba Death

After a teen died from contracting a so-called brain-eating amoeba at a recreation center in North Carolina, policy officials are left with the questions about how to handle the park’s water.

“Mecklenburg County officials are considering a plan that would take water from the U.S. National Whitewater Center blamed in the death of a teenager and dump it into the Catawba River,” The Charlotte Observer reported.

“Lisa Corbitt, program manager for Groundwater and Wastewater Services, told county commissioners that authorities are still trying to determine how they will safely remove water that contains the Naegleria fowleri amoeba,” the report said.

Treatment challenges, including problems with filtration, are complicating the effort.

“A few days ago, health officials concluded that the center's filtration system wasn't enough to handle the amount of debris in the water,” according to WSOCTV.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Whitewater Center are working together to figure out what needs to be done to have proper filtration and proper cleaning of the whitewater activity,” the report said.

There is still no timeline for when cleanup will be complete or when rafting with be open again at the U.S. Whitewater Center, according to WSOCTV. Lawmakers may get involved in the cleanup, the report said.

“That's a major reason why officials asked the North Carolina Senate to hold off on a bill that would allow the state to regulate the Whitewater Center. They needed more time to figure out how to fix the issues and make the whitewater activity safe again,” WSOCTV reported.

Lauren Seitz, an 18-year-old from Ohio, “died shortly after returning from a church trip, during which she contracted Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis, known as PAM, which is a severe brain infection caused by an amoeba called Naegleria fowleri,” USA Today reported, citing Mitzi Kline, communications director for Franklin County Public Health.

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