Presented to the Dallas City Council by Rich Sheridan, P.E. , Professional Engineer, New York ·Activist

Wednesday, August 13, 2008
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Crypto, or cryptosporidium has been putting a scare, putting fear into many Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex families. Over 100 people have become ill, and one child may have died to-date from this insidious organism. What is Cryptosporidium? It’s a parasite protected by an outer shell that makes it very resistant to chlorine disinfection. The illness begins when this tiny one-celled parasite enters your body, and travels to your small intestine. Cryptosporidium, which means “hidden spore,” then begins its life cycle inside your body — burrowing into the walls of your intestines, sucking off your bodily fluids, and then later being shed in your feces. While this parasite can be transmitted in several different ways, water is a common method of transmission and Cryptosporidium is one of the most frequent causes of waterborne disease (drinking water and recreational water). Symptoms of crypto infection generally begin 2 to 10 days (average 7 days) after becoming infected with the parasite. The most common symptom of crypto disease is watery diarrhea. Other symptoms include, stomach cramps or pain, dehydration, nausea, vomiting, fever, and weight loss. A crypto infection can lead to death. The most suseptable are the young, the old, and the AIDS/HIV infected. (Ref: Center for Disease Control)
The first major outbreak of cryptosporidium disease happen in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where over 400,000 people became ill, and over 100 people died. Prior to the Milwaukee incident, there were two or three other outbreaks of crypto from drinking the municipal water supply in other cities. The Milwaukee outbreak caused the addition of ozonation treatment at the Milwaukee water treatment plant, and at many other water treatmant plants around the country. Las Vegas, Nevada, where 32 people died from crypto, was the last major city to install ozonation equipment in 2003 at a cost of 120 million dollars for this 500 million gallons per day (mgd) plant. Dallas installed ozonation treatment at its water treatment plants in 2002, with the world’s largest ozonation plant in the world built at the Elm Fork plant. The cost was about $100 million for this 330 mgd plant.

Are we at the same point historically today as we were in 1993 in Milwaukee? Going in a swimming pool today is something like playing Crypto-infection Russian Roulette, is it not? And why is it that we have to have to have this threat among us? The technology is there to eliminate cryptosporidium from our swimming pools. Whether ozonation, or ultraviolet light as Lewisville does their pools, or silver treatment, most citizens would gladly welcome the addition of a technology that would keep their children safe, keep our grandparents safe, keep our AID/HIV infected population safe, keep all of us safe…would they not?

To address the crypto situation, municipalities around the metroplex, Dallas included, are super-chlorinating on a weekly basis, raising chlorine dosages well above the typical dosages to kill the crypto. It’s done weekly because Crypto can show up within a few days of super-chlorinating. During the super-chlorination, the pools are shut down because the chlorine levels are harmful to swimmers. At what level is chlorine not harmful to people? My good friend Maureine Pierce, with the advice from her doctor, would go swimming as part of her hip replacement recovery thearapy. After a few days, Mauriene would have uncontrollable coughing spells throughout the day and evening. After reporting this to her doctor he advised her to stop going to the pool. Chlorine has been connected to heart disease, cancer, and asthma.

Yes, it is time for Change, Big Change. Our Crypto situation is just another sign of our tax money going to Special Interests. People are now suffering and dying from these Special Interests, whether from Crypto, or from fuel and electric costs, or from the lack of food, or from the War we are now in.

This was not stagnant water. This was from too many babies and diapers and maybe dogs in the pool.

Don’t they do a similar story around here every summer? Seems like last year it was some parasite that was introduced thru mouth and nose when kids dove into stagnant water.

Last one in the pool gets a Crypto t-shirt!

I attended John Thomas’ funeral many years back… and while he has fought back many of the complications of AIDS, it was the crypto he got that finally killed him.

Crypto is also bad for children, the elderly…and for those with compromised immune systems.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/38753