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Candia waterpark shut down due to E. coli contamination

CANDIA, NH (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Part of a popular New Hampshire water park is shut down due to E. coli contamination. Officials with Environmental Services discovered the safety hazard affecting two main attractions at Liquid Planet Water Park in Candia.

The owners of the water park were ordered to shut down two slides last week, but refused. So the attorney general took the unusual step of taking it to court.

It was supposed to be of summer fun for young swimmers at the park, but instead it turned into concern over a safety hazard.

"It's a little scary to think I brought my son and his friends here for a birthday party," one mom said.

The owners are now being taken to court after refusing to listen after officials ordered the affected parts of the park to be shut down.

"The state went over on Wednesday informing owner of violations, we had the letter of deficiency Thursday with the understanding they'd be shutdown but apparently Monday it was reopened so we sought an injunction," the attorney general said.

It's the first time in the department's history they've had to take such drastic measures to deal with disobedience.

We reached out to the owners of the water park for comment, but they declined an on camera interview. Meanwhile the state says safety is top priority.

According to the state attorney general's office, the owner of Liquid Planet Water Park could face fines. They'll also need to get the proper permits to reopen those slides, which could take months.

The owner of Liquid Planet Water, Kevin Dumont, issued a statement on Thursday. Dumont acknowledged that the park failed a water test on the speed slides on July 30 and said that the park shut down the slides and corrected the problem right away.

Kevin Dumont's full statement here:

First, let me start by saying that we take guest safety very seriously at Liquid Planet and that's why in 8 years of operation we have never had a guest become ill or injured at our Water Park. The Filtration systems we use on all our rides are state of the art and, along with our managers, they test the water on all our attractions constantly throughout the day. It is true that on Thursday July 30 we failed a water test on just our speed slides and the slides were shut down and the water quality problem was corrected right away. The reason our slides remained closed is the state of NH D.E.S. realized that a plumbing permit was not filed with them. This was an oversight on both our part as well as D.E.S's. The permit application is currently completed and has been sent to their office for processing. 

Liquid Planet water park is a small family run business and we want our valued customers to know we are open, we are safe to visit and we appreciate their continued business and support.