Health & Safety Remain Top Priority for Health Department

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The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department’s top priority remains the health and well-being of our staff and the community and will continue to be our guiding principle. The Mayor’s comments to open Savage Splash Pad, while differing from our recommendation, reflect a different perspective on balancing community needs and safety measures.

The State of Ohio and the Ohio Department of Health identifies the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department as its agent on public health and safety matters as it does with other local health departments throughout the State. One of those obligations as a local agent for the State is to inspect public pools, including splash pads.

As it relates to the Savage Splash Pad, the Health Department inspected that facility and notified the City of Toledo of several violations in May of 2023. During inspection, it was noted the spray height was roughly 10ft, and anything above 6.21ft exceeds the maximum velocity. The water pressure coming from the nozzles may cause significant injury to users of the splash pad, specifically small children and the elderly. To address this concern, the Health Department asked for an engineer to evaluate and verify the water pressure is operating in compliance with Makenna’s Law.

TLCHD continues to work with the City of Toledo and looks forward to the next steps of ensuring the safety of the splash pad.