El Paso Matters – Poop or puke in a city pool? El Paso city leaders float fine to clean up the mess

It could be dubbed the “Caddyshack” clause: El Paso city leaders are considering issuing swimmers a fine if they poop in city pools. The issue is far less comical than a Baby Ruth in the water and more in line with what the city says is costly staff time and lost revenue to deal with potential “code browns.”

The city is looking to impose a new $50 fine for defecation or vomiting incidents in pools under the proposed budget for the next fiscal year. Although the fine – one of several new or increased fees being considered – aims to recover a small portion of city costs for the cleanup, it’s mostly meant to be a deterrent.

“Sometimes you have bad days,” city spokesperson Laura Cruz-Acosta said of the incidents, which bring to mind the infamous 1980 “Caddyshack” movie scene where children scream uncontrollably when they spot an unknown brown object floating in the pool. 

Unlike the movie’s doodie-in-the-pool scene where a hazmat-style response included draining the swimming pool only to find the floating object was a Baby Ruth candy bar, the city doesn’t have to empty a pool after such incidents. But the pool facility does have to shut down for the remainder of the day for cleanup. The city incurs about $1,000 in costs for staff time and the cost of chemicals to sanitize the water and building, Cruz-Acosta said.

“I would pay it. It would suck to pay it, but I would pay it,” said Carolina Andrade, who took her 9-year-old son to swim Wednesday at the Westside Natatorium. “I’d be embarrassed, (but) I’d pay it.”

Andrade said she would understand since the city has to close the pool for the cleanup, but thinks $50 may be high for some.

A fine for urinating in pools is not being proposed as regular filtration and sanitation, including chlorine, maintain the water quality. But urine may also create health hazards such as eye irritation when it mixes with chlorine. Urine also reduces the effectiveness of chlorine.

Employees must follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols to clean up the mess when people defecate or vomit in the pools and take immediate action to prevent the spread of illness and bacteria associated with fecal matter and vomit. 

Aside from the ick-factor, feces and vomit can carry bacteria and parasites such as Cryptosporidium or Crypto, E. coli, Shigella, norovirus and Giardia that may all cause watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, or prolonged diarrhea and abdominal discomfort, according to the CDC.

Lifeguards would be charged with identifying the culprits and issuing the fine, Cruz-Acosta said.

The fee would apply only to the 13 facilities the city operates. The city-owned water parks – Camp Cohen in Northeast, Chapoteo in the Lower Valley, Lost Kingdom in East-Central and Oasis on the Far Eastside – are operated by Destination El Paso and users there wouldn’t be subject to the fine.

The city has recorded 10 incidents over the last four years that required it to shut down a facility to address the mess – three at the natatorium at the Beast Eastside Regional Recreation Center and seven at other separate locations, Cruz-Acosta said.

If the City Council adopts the fine, the city would first hold a public education campaign and issue first warnings before a fine is imposed, Cruz-Acosta said. There will be no appeal process, she added.

The city is also considering additional new fees and increasing others, including for park rentals, library passport photos, ambulance services, residential parking permits and surrendering animals. Charges for services such as fees and fines make up about 7% of the city’s budget.

Any money collected by new fees, if approved, will go into the city’s general fund, City Manager Dionne Mack said.

“With the exception of enterprise funds (such as Sun Metro and El Paso International Airport) most fees collected by the city are deposited into the general fund, which supports a wide range of public services including public safety, parks, libraries and more,” Mack said in an emailed response to El Paso Matters.

Mack said the revenue generated from fee and fine increases aren’t directly earmarked for the department that collects them. 

“This reflects our intent to continue reinvesting in services that directly benefit the community,” she said.

The city will introduce its tax rate to fund next year’s proposed general fund budget of about $624.4 million on July 31 along with certified property values. A public hearing is scheduled for the tax rate and budget Aug. 12. The City Council will vote whether to adopt them Aug. 19.

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