Traverse City Officials OK $300K Sewage-Soaked Splash Pad Settlement

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - Traverse City commissioners have accepted a $300,000 settlement that should end a dispute stemming from a splash pad renovation that rained sewage-contaminated water on children in 2013.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports commissioners on Monday approved the settlement following a closed session without offering any public comment. City Manager Marty Colburn says they'll "move forward" after the agreement.

Details of the settlement weren't immediately released.

City officials said a $2.9 million park renovation by Hamilton Anderson Associates was plagued by multiple design flaws and that the splash pad didn't have some permits that typically are needed.

The worst problem was a direct connection between the city sewer system and the splash pad that failed — causing human waste-tainted water to flow into the 2,000-gallon water reservoir that feeds the fountains at Clinch Park.

The newspaper said reports of gastrointestinal illnesses and one rash to the Grand Traverse County Health Department came from people who'd played at the pad in late June of that year.

The department said the symptoms were consistent with exposure to raw sewage, but it isn't certain of a link to the splash pad.

Since 2013, the city and Hamilton Anderson have been working to resolve the dispute.

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