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Do splash pads use UV secondary disinfection?
Quick answer
Many recirculating splash pads include UV secondary disinfection to kill chlorine-resistant pathogens like Cryptosporidium. UV reactors sit inline after the filter and before the chlorine doser, treating the entire recirc loop without changing chemistry.
Chlorine alone is not enough for splash pads. The hard reality is that Cryptosporidium oocysts survive in chlorinated water for days, which is why recirculating splash pads have caused multiple documented outbreaks. UV secondary disinfection solves this. A medium-pressure UV reactor sits inline in the recirc loop, exposing the entire flow to germicidal UV-C light at a dose strong enough to inactivate Crypto, Giardia, and most viruses. Ozone systems do the same job through chemistry instead of light. The CDC's Healthy Swimming guidance recommends secondary disinfection for any recirculating splash pad serving young children. Cost: $10K-30K for the UV system plus $1K-2K per year for lamp replacement. Many state health codes now require it for new permits. Single-pass flow-through pads using fresh potable water generally don't need it because each gallon is used once and dumped.