07-01-2011, 07:07 AM
Boston Herald
A murky, state-run Fall River pool was cleared by city health inspectors for public use Tuesday even as a dead woman’s body was apparently submerged (NOT FLOATING) in the deep end, and swimmers told the Herald the water was so dark they couldn’t even see their feet.
Yet, in a startling development yesterday, Fall River Mayor William Flanagan said two city inspectors passed by the Veteran’s Memorial Pool on Monday, noticed it open despite an expired city permit, but failed to order it closed.
When they returned Tuesday to inspect Veteran’s, they deemed the water “cloudy,” yet passed the pool anyway because the chlorine and pH levels checked out normal, Flanagan said.
Later that night, city officials said a young couple who jumped the pool’s 7-foot fence for an illicit, after-hours dip discovered the body of 36-year-old Marie Joseph.
The gruesome discovery has touched off a “top-to-bottom review” by the Department of Conservation and Recreation of all 24 state-run pools that were closed Wednesday, but Gov. Deval Patrick said he hopes to reopen them by the Fourth of July.
Edward Lambert Jr., DCR commissioner and former Fall River mayor, said he also put the “pool’s entire staff” on administrative leave, the same step Flanagan took for his health inspectors.
“We express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Marie Joseph,” Lambert said in a statement yesterday, adding his agency is cooperating with a police probe.
At a press conference in Fall River, Lambert dodged a reporter’s question about the pool’s condition, saying only, “Pools are subject to inspection, and we believe it was opened appropriately.”
A Patrick administration spokeswoman later told the Herald the state health rules require water to be tested at least four times a day, adding that pools are vacuumed and cleaned every one to three days.
A murky, state-run Fall River pool was cleared by city health inspectors for public use Tuesday even as a dead woman’s body was apparently submerged (NOT FLOATING) in the deep end, and swimmers told the Herald the water was so dark they couldn’t even see their feet.
Yet, in a startling development yesterday, Fall River Mayor William Flanagan said two city inspectors passed by the Veteran’s Memorial Pool on Monday, noticed it open despite an expired city permit, but failed to order it closed.
When they returned Tuesday to inspect Veteran’s, they deemed the water “cloudy,” yet passed the pool anyway because the chlorine and pH levels checked out normal, Flanagan said.
Later that night, city officials said a young couple who jumped the pool’s 7-foot fence for an illicit, after-hours dip discovered the body of 36-year-old Marie Joseph.
The gruesome discovery has touched off a “top-to-bottom review” by the Department of Conservation and Recreation of all 24 state-run pools that were closed Wednesday, but Gov. Deval Patrick said he hopes to reopen them by the Fourth of July.
Edward Lambert Jr., DCR commissioner and former Fall River mayor, said he also put the “pool’s entire staff” on administrative leave, the same step Flanagan took for his health inspectors.
“We express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Marie Joseph,” Lambert said in a statement yesterday, adding his agency is cooperating with a police probe.
At a press conference in Fall River, Lambert dodged a reporter’s question about the pool’s condition, saying only, “Pools are subject to inspection, and we believe it was opened appropriately.”
A Patrick administration spokeswoman later told the Herald the state health rules require water to be tested at least four times a day, adding that pools are vacuumed and cleaned every one to three days.