Hygiene Incident at PortAventura Water Park
Recently, a public health incident occurred at Caribe Aquatic Park, part of the renowned PortAventura World theme park in Salou, Spain. According to reports, human feces were discovered in a children’s pool and an adult pool, forcing the park to take emergency measures.
The incident happened around the afternoon when staff noticed the issue and immediately asked visitors in and around the pools to leave. Some visitors present recorded the pool being emptied and posted the videos on social media, drawing public attention.
Park Activates Emergency Protocol and Responds Swiftly
Following the incident, PortAventura promptly activated its established hygiene emergency protocol. In a statement, the park said its staff are professionally trained to handle such situations. According to regulations, the use of a facility is immediately suspended upon the discovery of feces, vomit, or other significant organic contaminants in the pool.
Staff then proceeded to thoroughly clean and perform high-level disinfection on the two affected pools. After all hygiene procedures were completed and water quality was confirmed to be back to standard, the pools were reopened to the public later the same day.
Incident Possibly Linked to ‘Brown Challenge’ Prank
This unsanitary act is believed to be linked to the ‘brown challenge’ (el reto de la caca) that has recently appeared on social media. This ‘challenge’ encourages participants to deliberately defecate in public pools as a prank, causing the pools to be closed for cleaning.
Since this summer, such incidents have become frequent in the Catalonia region of Spain. Statistics show that public pools in over 10 municipalities have been temporarily closed as a result, including those in Tàrrega, Pallejà, Besalú, Bellpuig, and Castellbell i el Vilar. Local authorities have condemned these acts, pointing out that they not only seriously disrupt the normal operation of public facilities but also pose significant inconvenience and health risks to other rule-abiding visitors.
Public Pool Hygiene Concerns Raised
As the hot summer weather continues, public pools have become a popular destination for people to cool off. However, the series of deliberate contamination incidents has sparked widespread discussion about public health safety and civic behavior. Recently, a medium-sized pool in the city of Ponts was also forced to evacuate for the same reason. These events serve as a reminder for the public to act civilly when using public facilities and to collectively maintain a safe and hygienic environment.
