In the summer of 2016, there was a devastating incident that shocked people around the United States. The incident occurred in Charlotte, North Carolina in the turbulent waters of the United States National Whitewater Center (USNWC). The accident was caused by a brain eating amoeba that was present in the water, called Naegleria Fowleri. It is vital that the USNWC adjust their water treatment methods after this tragic infection that occurred in 2016, in order to prevent further events. A common practice known as chlorination exists that can deactivate the amoeba that caused infection and the USNWC should utilize the process this upcoming summer to prevent a similar incident. 

The United States National Whitewater Center is a facility in Charlotte, NC that offers its guests the adventure of a lifetime. Their main attraction is Whitewater Rafting. The rafting at the USNWC, also known simply as the Whitewater center, is conducted in a large man-made river that is similar to a lazy river at a water park, just more turbulent and powerful. Guests navigate the rapids in this river in a large rubber raft with the help of a guide. Even with an experienced guide in the raft, it is not uncommon for rafts to capsize and toss guests somewhat violently into the water. When one imagines things that could go wrong while whitewater rafting, the first danger that comes to mind is drowning. In most whitewater related drowning cases, the victim either gets trapped underwater by a rock or tree, or gets held under by a hydraulic or circulating current. The designers at the whitewater center took this into consideration when they designed the course to limit the danger while still giving guests the sense of adventure. This is something you would expect from a corporation that is charging guests fifty dollars each to participate in the activity. The water in this artificial river becomes very warm in the summer months which to most would seem like a good thing; nobody wants to get soaked with freezing cold water. However, the warm water in the whitewater center is not only inviting to the guests, it is also inviting to a small parasite. This warm water contributed to a devastating accident that occurred in early summer 2016. 

In June 2016, Lauren Seitz, a young girl from Ohio made the long journey to the whitewater center to enjoy a day of adventure with other members of her church. During her visit, Lauren Seitz participated in the center’s flagship activity; whitewater rafting. During the activity Seitz’s raft overturned and tossed its passengers into the swift warm water. This is a common occurrence at the whitewater center so there was no reason for anyone to think twice about the incident. However, what happened to Seitz soon after returning to Ohio was anything but common. On June 19th 2016, about a week after her experience at the whitewater center, Lauren Seitz had passed away. The cause of death was a brain eating amoeba that was contracted at the whitewater center. 

The brain eating amoeba responsible for this young girl’s death was identified as Naegleria Fowleri. This single celled organism is found in moist soil and warm water. The amoeba kills its victims by eating away at your brain until it can no longer function properly causing death in as little as a few days. Infections of Naegleria Fowleri are extremely rare, however the infection kills with devastating efficiency. The fatality rate of Naegleria Fowleri infections is over ninety-five percent according to the Center of Disease Control. Although the fatality rate of the amoeba is extremely high, cases of infection are rare. According to the Center of Disease Control, there have only been thirty-seven infections in the past ten years. 

The fact that the amoeba was contracted in a controlled, man-made environment was shocking to most. It is one thing for an amoeba to be contracted in a natural environment such as a lake or pond where the amoeba could exist naturally. It is another thing for the amoeba to be present in an environment that is man-made and supposedly well controlled. At first, some people wondered if the whitewater was actually the source of the infection. This question lead to an investigation of the water quality at the whitewater center by local government agencies. The whitewater center was closed during the investigation, which lasted _____. Water samples were taken from the reservoir and tested for the presence of Naegleria Fowleri. The results of this investigation were shocking. Nine out of the ten samples taken tested positive for Naegleria Fowleri. After the tests were conducted it was understood that the infection likely occurred at the whitewater center. Naegleria Fowleri can only infect its host if it travels up the nasal passage. When Seitz raft capsized it is likely that water containing the amoeba went up her nose, causing the tragic infection. After the investigation concluded that the infection occurred at the whitewater center, the manmade river was shut down until it could be determined what would be done to combat this issue.  

Many questions were raised after the infection and death of Lauren Seitz, one in particular is very important; how would the Whitewater Center alter their water treatment methods if at all moving forward? There are two sides to this argument. One side believes that the incident at the whitewater center was a freak accident that should not be dealt with due to the fact that it is unlikely to ever occur again. The other side of the argument calls for the whitewater center to adjust their water treatment practices to more effectively deal with the deadly microorganism that inhabits the waters of the Whitewater Center. If the Whitewater Center is going to charge guests to participate in the activity, it is only ethical that they take every precaution that they can to limit the risk of injury or death that the guests experience during their visit. 

The current water treatment system in place at the Whitewater Center is a two prong attack designed to eliminate any organic threats to human health. Whether that be from bacteria such as E.coli or single celled organisms such as Naegleria Fowleri, these treatment systems are in place to combat these issues.  The whitewater center runs all of their water under ultra violet radiation. This treatment method is supposedly effective in killing ninety-nine percent of organic material suspended in the water. In addition to the use of ultra violet radiation treatment, the water also receives periodic chlorine treatment in an attempt to control the growth of algae along the walls and riverbed of the man-made river.  This system has been in place since the whitewater center was opened in 2006. Since its opening, there had not been any fatalities caused by whitewater rafting; that is until the incident that occurred in June of 2016. A better water treatment system could have prevented the death of Seitz and should be implemented to reduce the risk of infection by Naegleria Fowleri to zero.  

There are many different methods of water treatment that are put into practice every day all over the world and could also be implemented to deal with the amoeba problem at the Whitewater Center. Methods include the addition of chemicals, exposure to certain types of radiation, and even running water through a simple filter. When it comes to deactivating the amoeba responsible for the fatal infection at the whitewater center, the only water treatment that will be effective is chlorination of the water. The reason that chlorination is the best water treatment method for deactivating the amoeba is because other forms of treatment would be ineffective when it comes to deactivating the parasite. UV radiation would work in a lab setting to deactivate the amoeba; however, when put into practice the water at the Whitewater Center, it churns up soil and algae on the riverbed which causes the water to become murky. The particles in the water block the UV Radiation from reaching some areas of the water, which allows the amoeba to make it through the filtration system unharmed. Chlorine on the other hand will travel throughout the entire system reaching anywhere the amoeba could possibly be present; in the river or the reservoir. Some may argue that the Whitewater Center used chlorine and the incident still occurred. The solution to this is to increase the concentration of chlorine at the whitewater center. Currently, the center uses small amounts of chlorine inconsistently to treat the water, basically the whitewater center used as little chlorine as possible to try to cut down on cost. A more thorough use of chlorine is needed to be sure that the amoeba is deactivated.  

In experiments performed by De Jonckheere, a number of different chemical water treatment methods were tested to determine the best chemical treatment for destroying two types of amoeba in hospital therapy pools. One of the amoeba used in the experiment was Naegleria Fowleri; the same amoeba present in the waters of the whitewater center. The experiment found that the most effective chemical to deactivate and destroy the amoeba is chlorine. The fact that this experiment was performed in therapy pools means that the results will translate to the environment present at the whitewater center. The environment at the whitewater is very similar to that of a pool because it is man-made. The whitewater center should implement a more thorough use of chlorine to limit if not eliminate the amoeba and prevent any risk of infection for guests. Not only would chlorination directly destroy the amoeba, increased concentration of chlorine in the whitewater center’s water treatment system would also increase the effectiveness of the ultra violet radiation component of the system. Increasing the concentration of chlorine in the whitewater center would kill algae growth on the riverbed as well as suspended in the water. This is important in terms of destroying the amoeba because algae suspended in the water actually shields the amoeba from coming in contact with the ultra violet radiation in the ultra violet filtration system. Increased concentration of chlorine will kill this algae allowing for the radiation to reach the amoeba and destroy it and its chances of infecting and harming a guest of the whitewater center. Another benefit of killing algae present on the riverbed is that the amoeba will not have a habitat to exist in. The amoeba needs sediment in order to survive. If chlorine concentration in the water is maintained at a higher concentration, the algae on the river bed will not be present, therefore leaving the amoeba with no place to multiply. With no place to multiply, the amoeba would not be able to increase the concentration number of organisms per milliliter of water to a point where it is dangerous. Based on the data increased chlorination of the water at the whitewater center is the best option for eliminating the risk of another devastating accident caused by the amoeba. One of the arguments against adjusting the water treatment methods used at the whitewater center argues that the concentration is of the amoeba in the water with the old system should not be a cause for concern because the accident is very unlikely to occur again. 

The biggest argument against the whitewater center adjusting their water treatment method is that the incident that occurred in June 2016 should not spur an overhaul of the current operations at the whitewater center. The argument started out with people who were just frustrated that the whitewater center was forced to close. However, science can somewhat back the argument. In an experiment performed by a scientist with a Phd in Parasitology, it was found that the risk of amoeba infection at a concentration that was observed at the whitewater center is extremely low. In the experiment, rodents were exposed to the amoeba in varying concentrations. The risk of infection for concentrations higher than observed at the Whitewater Center were less than one tenth of one percent. This data raises the argument that the odds of becoming infected by Naegleria Fowleri are so slim that there is no point in adjusting the current water treatment methods in place at the Whitewater Center. Even with the slim chance of infection, the whitewater center requires all of its guests to sign a waiver that shows that they understand that whitewater rafting is an inherently dangerous activity and could result in injury or death. The idea behind the waiver is to protect the Whitewater Center from lawsuits in case of freak accidents. Many people would argue with this statement. 

The counter argument for this statement is that because the Whitewater Center is a business that is charging its guests a fee to participate in the activity, the center should strive to make the experience as safe as possible for its guests. Even if the accident in June of 2016 was just that, a freak accident, it is still the whitewater center’s responsibility to stop freak accidents from occurring. The idea behind the Whitewater Center is to provide a controlled yet thrilling environment for its guests. They want their guests to feel like they are experiencing some degree of danger when in reality the risk of injury or death is slim. In order for the whitewater center to operate as ethically as possible, it is important that they adjust their current water treatment plan to reduce or completely eliminate the risk of infection. It would be plain wrong for the whitewater center to rake in profits, knowing that they are putting their guests at great risk of infection by a deadly brain eating organism. 

In addition to adjusting the water treatment system, there are a few other measures that can be taken by the Whitewater Center to limit the risk of deadly infection. Not so say that the water treatment methods used last summer should not be adjusted, but there are a few extra measures that could be implemented to help control the amoeba in addition to increased chlorination of the water in the artificial river. One such measure is offering guests nose plugs to prevent inhalation of water. This would reduce the risk of infection because the amoeba can only infect its host if the host inhales water containing the amoeba through their nose. Again this would just be a supplementary measure added on top of increasing the concentration of chlorine to eliminate the risk of Naegleria Fowleri infections. 

After the devastating death of a young girl from Ohio controversy was raised as to whether or not the whitewater should adjust the water treatment methods installed in their manmade river. Although some may say that adjustments to the water treatment methods are not necessary, it is vital that the whitewater center increase the concentration of chlorine in their artificial river to prevent future infections and fatalities caused by Naegleria Fowleri. Other businesses with operations similar to the whitewater center should also look into increasing the concentration of chlorine in their water systems to prevent a similar accident from happening at their facility. It is important for a company as popular as the Whitewater Center, which provides memories of adventures for years to come, to protect its customers live’s the best it can so they can continue adventuring with them for a long time. 

 