The potential financial consequences of a chemical incident that injured swimmers last month at Temescal Pool are starting to emerge for the city of Oakland.
One of the people swimming at the Pool on Sept. 10, when dangerous chemicals were suddenly released into the water, is a lawyer, and they have filed a claim against the city — essentially a precursor to a lawsuit.
The swimmer alleges he was among the 20 or more people in the water around 6 a.m. participating in a workout with the Temescal Masters swim team when the pool’s chemical system injected a concentrated rush of chlorine and hydrochloric acid into the pool.
According to the swimmer, noxious fumes filled the air, making it difficult to see or breathe. The swimmers “were coughing violently and struggling to keep their heads above water.”
“My head was swimming, and I immediately felt nauseous. Some of my teammates were screaming ‘get out of the water’; others were yelling to find out what was happening; others were just screaming in agony.”
The Oaklandside reached out to the individual who filed the claim. They are a former federal prosecutor who currently serves as legal counsel for a major university. Concerned for their privacy, they asked to not be named.
The swimmer, in their claim, alleges that four individuals were taken to the hospital, including two via ambulance, and that they suffered symptoms of chemical exposure and inhalation, along with emotional distress.
“Put bluntly, this was a traumatic event. I have suffered from survivor’s guilt, persistent anxiety, and loss of my enjoyment of life,” the claimant wrote. “Anyone who knows me knows that swimming at Temescal was one of my favorite endeavors, and a key pillar of my identity. As of now, I don’t know if I’ll ever go back.”
The swimmer alleges the chemical spill was the result of the city’s negligence. If other swimmers file similar claims, the city could be asked to pay thousands of dollars to compensate them for healthcare bills, emotional distress, and more. If the claims escalate into lawsuits, Oakland could be on the hook for much more money.
The City Attorney did not respond to an interview request to discuss the claim.
According to the swimmer, the cause of the chemical injection was human error. They wrote in their claim that city staff who maintain the pool had been alerted to low chemical levels in the Temescal Pool on the morning of Sept. 10. Upon inspection, staff discovered that the ChemFlo automated water management system was shut off, which the claim characterizes as “an exceptionally rare and hazardous operational state.”
Standard safety protocol required closing the facility and evacuating swimmers before adjusting the chemicals, but city staff allegedly turned the machinery back on while swimmers were still in the water.
The Oaklandside first reported the Temescal Pool incident last month. City officials apologized and said they were investigating how chemicals used to balance pH and kill bacteria were suddenly released while people were in the pool.
On Sept. 30, city spokesman Sean Maher shared an update that the city is retraining staff on pool operations and safety procedures, responding to Alameda County Health Department requirements on signage and scheduled replacement of pool parts. The pool has been closed and is expected to reopen at the end of October.
Maher also said the city is working to fill Oakland’s vacant positions for pool technicians, the people who are responsible for upkeep of the city’s six public pools. For months, Oakland has had the money to fill two of these roles, but the city’s HR Department failed to recruit for them; instead, Oakland relied on other staff who were certified as pool operators, but who had other duties. Shortly after our first story, the city published job posts advertising the pool technician role.
Additionally, Oakland is conducting assessments of all its pools to figure out what needs to be fixed and how much repairs will cost. Maher said the city’s goal is “to put in place the staffing, training, operational accountability, and long-term capital investment needed to provide safe and reliable public pools for our Oakland community.”
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