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Splash pad at Salt Lake City’s Gateway temporarily closed by health department

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Shoppers pass by the fountain a The Gateway in Salt Lake City.

UPDATE • The Gateway water feature was deemed safe by the Salt Lake County Health Department on May 7, 2019 and was allowed to open to the public.

May 5, 2019 • The snowflake-shaped water fountain at The Gateway was temporarily closed by the Salt Lake County Health Department on Monday after inspectors found improper chlorine levels.

According to a notice posted on the department website, Vestar — the company that owns the downtown development — was cited for operating "a pool in a way that causes or creates a threat to the public health, safety, or the environment.”

The company had recently done repairs on the splash pad’s injector system and that may have been the problem, according to a health department spokeswoman. The water feature will remain closed until the necessary repairs can be made and the chlorine level is safe for the public.

Formerly called the Olympic Fountain — in honor of Utah’s hosting of the 2002 Winter Games — the splash pad attracts hundreds of young children and their parents each summer who beat the heat by darting in and out of the water jets.