CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It's been two weeks since the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte reopened it's rafting channels, after being shut down for nearly two months.
In June, Ohio teen Lauren Seitz died of an infection from a brain-eating amoeba, just days after visiting the center.
State Senator Joel Ford, whose district includes the Whitewater Center, questioned whether officials reopened the facility too soon.
"My concern primarily is one of transparency and accountability," Ford said.
Ford said he was surprised and disappointed to hear the center's whitewater channels were reopened to the public, devoid of state regulation of the facility.
Over the summer, the North Carolina House backed legislation said to make it easier for health officials to regulate such centers. The legislation also directs that drinking water from public schools with construction permits before 1987 be tested for lead.
The amendment did not pass the Senate.
"The Whitewater Center has been operating under their own procedures and operational standards, without having any oversight from any government body," Ford said. "That must change."
Whitewater Center officials have since drained the water, and installed new filtration and disinfection systems.
This week, Mecklenburg County health officials said testing of the Whitewater Center's chlorine levels are going well, and are within target.
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