Date: Fri 19-Jul-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

swamp-Dickinson-park-pool

Full Text:

with photos : Summer Fun Gets Swamped

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

As it turns out, the swamp thing was harmless.

The pool at Dickinson Park reopened Wednesday afternoon after being closed for

a day amid concerns that the water had become polluted.

Water from a nearby swamp on Point O' Rocks Road reportedly overflowed its

banks, running across the road and eventually overfilling a forgotten dranage

culvert spilling into the public pool Tuesday.

The combination of last weekend's heavy rain and a drainage pipe clogged by

busy beavers raised the level of the swamp.

With the water, came a "rotten egg" odor that initially had swimmers thinking

actual sewage had entered the pool, but tests results indicated there was no

bacteria in the water.

Town Health Director Mark Cooper arrived on the scene around noon on Tuesday

and decided to close the pool as a precaution. "We were pretty sure there

wasn't a problem, but we closed the pool until the tests came back just to be

sure," he explained.

Aqua Environmental Lab of Newtown secured samples of the swamp water and

conducted the testing.

As for the odor that many thought was sewage or septic, Parks & Recreation

Director Barbara Kasbarian explained that it actually came from decomposing

vegetation from the swamp.

"There's nothing to worry about, though, the tests came out fine," she

explained. "We wanted to close the pool because initially we did not know what

we were dealing with."

The state Department of Environmental Protection reported receiving similar

complaints about water having a foul smell from residents throughout the

state. Last weekend's storm managed to stir up much of the vegetation from

bottoms of lakes, ponds and swamps, causing the stench.

Mrs Kasbarian was out of town at meetings when the incident first began at the

park Tuesday, but learned of what had happened upon her return that afternoon.

"It was pretty hectic. In my 23 years in town, I've never seen that place

flood like that," she said.

Though tests indicated there was nothing for swimmers to worry about, water

from the swamp was still seeping into the pool an hour after it reopened

Wednesday.

One camp counselor noted that the swamp water still smelled badly. She looked

on in disbelief at the 20 or so residents who went into the pool.

"It's disgusting. I can't believe people are swimming in there," she said.

Mrs Kasbarian said the pool was shocked with 150 pounds of granular chlorine

Tuesday and another 200 pounds Wednesday night.