Water Park’s Disastrous Grand Opening Sends 16 People to the Hospital
The grand opening of the Great Wolf Lodge water park in Webster, Texas, was marred by a hazardous chemical incident in a pool house that is separate from the water park. The incident occurred when a contractor mistakenly mixed sodium hypochlorite and sulfuric acid, leading to a cloud that caused breathing problems for nearby individuals. Five people were evacuated, while sixteen others were hospitalized; fortunately, all have since been released. Webster Fire Chief Dean Spencer confirmed that the chemicals were resolved, and the hotel and water park were not affected. The water park, which features a 92,000-square-foot indoor water area and a 61,000-square-foot Adventure Park, had its opening day moved up to Wednesday from Labor Day weekend. Great Wolf Lodge emphasized that safety is paramount and that they will implement additional safeguards for their chemical vendors while cooperating with ongoing investigations.
The grand opening of a massive Texas water park on Wednesday included a hazardous chemical incident at one part of Great Wolf Lodge in Webster, Texas.
The incident happened in a pool house that is not a part of the water park, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The $200 million attraction has a 92,000-square-foot indoor water park and a 61,000-square-foot Adventure Park, according to the Chronicle.
Five people evacuated the building.
Sixteen other employees and contractors working at the site were taken to local hospitals, according to Fox News.
Webster Fire Chief Dean Spencer said a contractor mixed what he called two “unlike” chemicals — sodium hypochlorite and sulfuric acid – setting off the incident.
A chemical incident at the Great Wolf Resort on it’s opening day has left multiple people hospitalized. The Webster Police Department confirmed the chemical incident at the indoor water park on Great Wolf Way
The $200 million resort features a 92,000-square-foot indoor water park pic.twitter.com/RbVsJKWBHK— KTRH News (@ktrhnews) August 7, 2024
“At this time, there is no issue with the chemicals. They have all been resolved,” Spencer said, according to KTRK-TV.
“At no time was the hotel or water park affected by this event,” he said.
The Webster Fire Department “isolated the tanks, monitored the area and confirmed no chemicals were detected in the hotel or water park,” a statement from the city of Webster said.
“The situation was quickly contained and will not affect the Lodge’s operations today,” according to the statement. “An environmental company is working with Great Wolf Lodge and the contractor to clean the tanks safely.”
The new indoor water park was initially scheduled to open on Labor Day weekend, but opening day was moved to Wednesday, according to KHOU-TV.
“As the chemical reaction occurred there was a cloud which affected the people that were outside in the area,” Spencer said.
“They ingested some of this, they had some breathing problems, so they were transported to the hospital. Some of them had more issues that others, some were just for precautionary measures,” he said.
“We greatly appreciate the quick actions of first responders from the city of Webster in response,” Great Wolf Lodge said in its initial statement.
In a statement on Thursday, Great Wolf Lodge said all those taken to a hospital were released.
“The safety and wellbeing of our guests and pack members is always our primary focus. We were informed yesterday afternoon that all those transported to the hospital were released following an incident at a building separate from our main indoor water park and resort,” the statement said.
“Safety is paramount. As such, we are putting additional safeguards in place for our third-party pool chemical vendors and are actively assisting officials as they investigate the matter,” the statement said.
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