Class Act plans legal action against DNR after water order

The owner of Class Act Family Fitness Center in Jackson plans to sue the Department of Natural Resources after receiving an order Friday to stop providing water from its well to its customers.

Owner Shawn McNally said he views the abatement order as illegal.

"The DNR only regulates businesses that provide water for human consumption. We removed our drinking fountain, so our facility is no longer under their jurisdiction," McNally said Saturday.

He said he will begin legal action against the department Monday.

The abatement order directs Class Act Family Fitness Center to stop providing water to the public for drinking, hand washing and showering. The order does allow for the water to be used to flush toilets.

DNR had previously issued a boil-water order for the center after more than 30 people got sick from drinking or otherwise coming into contact with the water there. The Department of Health and Senior Services previously confirmed that 15 of those affected had been infected by E. coli.

McNally said he has fully cooperated with DNR and the Cape Girardeau County Health Department up until this point. He's taken several steps to ensure the safety of the water at his business, including removing the drinking fountain, providing bottled water to his customers, installing a chlorination system and installing an ultraviolet light in the pipes to kill bacteria.

"We have done everything we can to ensure the safety of our customers," he said.

The facility's showers have been turned off, but McNally said water continues to be used for hand washing.

In early May, DNR began investigating the drinking water at the site along with the Cape Girardeau County Health Department and Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services after the pattern of illnesses emerged.

Initially, McNally said, they thought the well became infected during the heavy rainstorms that hit the area in late April. After further research, he's changed his mind.

"I think the kids were sick before they ever came here and through cross-contamination spread it in the facility," McNally said.

McNally and his family live in an apartment at the fitness center and continue to use the water to drink, brush their teeth and cook.

"None of us have become ill," he said.

According to a DNR news release, sampling by state and county officials confirmed the facility's water system, including the water fountain and faucets, as a source of E. coli.

But McNally said none of the tests performed have shown the presence of the 1057 E. coli strain, which made the children in this case sick.

DNR officials said in a news release that continuing availability of the water to the public for washing, including to a significant number of preschool-age children, who are unlikely to read signs telling them not to drink the water, constituted an emergency health situation that warranted the abatement order.

In addition to restricting the use of the water, the new order requires McNally to:

• Stop adding chemicals to the water so that accurate source water samples may be taken.
• Make no additional changes to the water system except for those approved in advance by DNR.
• Notify customers of the abatement order by posting signs provided by the department.
• Allow DNR representatives access to inspect the drinking water system.
• Provide DNR with any required information necessary to determine the quality of the water being dispensed.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

2336 County Road 307, Jackson, MO