County testing Point State Park fountain for Legionnaire’s
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Allegheny County Health Department is testing the water in the fountain at Pittsburgh’s Point State Park after a recent visitor was diagnosed with Legionnaire’s disease, which is commonly spread by waterborne bacteria.
Health officials said they don’t expect the person was sickened by the fountain because its water is generally too cool for the bacteria to thrive and is chemically treated as it is recycled through the fountain.
Still, park officials are adding extra chlorine to the water as a precaution because the fountain is a focal point of the city’s three-day regatta, which begins Tuesday and ends with a Fourth of July fireworks display.
The fountain reopened June 7 after four years of renovations.
The water is being tested as a precaution because the fountain is a public place the patient visited.