IVINS — For much of the day last Wednesday, Fire Lake Park and the Ivins Reservoir were closed. Families were neither able to sit on the lake’s sandy beaches nor swim in the water.
The reason why came down to a concept that seems simple but was ignored: what toilets are for.
Ivins Public Works Director Chuck Gillette said some kind of item put into one of the toilets in the park’s bathrooms not meant to go in there caused a problem with a pump that pushes septic tank waste into the sewer, as opposed to the lake. While Gillette said nothing overflowed or spilled anywhere, an alarm was activated and caused a shutdown of the park for a day until the pump was repaired.
“Toilets are not trash cans. There is a dumpster bin literally 10 paces away from the bathrooms,” Gillette said. “We have been experiencing problems with the public putting items in the toilets that do not belong there.”
Gillette emphasized that the alarm system kept any pollutants from the lake itself. While the park was closed as a matter of caution Wednesday, it returned to normal operation for the rest of the week and through the weekend.
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